Peepli [Live] (2010)
Anusha Rizvi, Mahmood Farooqui
Hindi
A haggard, thirty-ish dimwit cum farmer Nathu (Omkar Das) lies in his house staring at a brand new – decidedly useless – hand pump presented to him after having almost inadvertently announced his suicide. Debutant writer-director Anusha Rizvi weaves a modest satire on mass media and electoral politics around this devastating existential premise that attempts to chastise the two entities for their opportunistic and exploitative response to the wave of farmer suicides in the country. What the film does not pay attention to is the fact that it is the same kind of corporations running these media outlets that are almost entirely responsible for the suicide wave across the nation as well. Not that the film is ignorant of the connection. It only knows the dynamics underpinning the phenomenon too well, as it indicates throughout with a hit-and-run approach, and chooses to concentrate on the effects rather than the causes. The result is a safe and rather neatly performed flogging of the dead horses known as media sensationalism and political hypocrisy that, predictably, detaches its target from the larger political fabric. Backed by some clever compositions and a noteworthy production design that provides an unsettling contrast between the part-godforsaken, part-heavenly hinterland and the sanitized, air-conditioned coldness of the studio interiors, the film is generally unmarred by its advertisement and photography-driven aesthetics and the sporadically sloppy direction. The film attains formidable density in the first half hour, where it starts exploring the imperceptibility of the moral gravity of one’s professional choices in the corporate ladder, and gets an easy and firm grasp of the bubbling up and trickling down processes of information and knowledge. It’s only when the film aims for the occasional dollop of profundity that it strains.
(Image courtesy: Emirates 24×7)
August 14, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Good catch about the corporations causing the suicides.
I only find such satires effective when the movie/book/TV series* feels a deep empathy for the people being satirised.
I haven’t watched the movie yet, but all opinions make me think that it is of the automatic damner type. There was a recent movie I felt this way about, called Raajneeti. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about it though, so I won’t say anything more about it.
*Only watched one of the kind, called Gossip Girl, which is what made me come to this realisation.
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August 14, 2010 at 8:33 pm
“for the people being satirized”? I don’t know about that , but the film sure does have a soft corner for the farmers.
Cheers!
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August 14, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Have been reading your reviews for quite a while and enjoying it. I really enjoyed reading your take on Raavan.
In one of your posts, you reviewed the movie ‘Maya Darpan’. Can I know where did you find the movie because I dont think it has an official DVD release.
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August 14, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Hey ShadeGuy. I got the film off the internet. Does this help?
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August 14, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Thanks. Have been searching this movie for quite a while but with no results.
Just out of curiosity, how much movies do you watch every day? I see this site updated on a very regular basis unlike other blogs. Have never seen a person who is so much into foreign movies. Its good to see you reviewing Hindi films as well.
As for Peepli Live I havent watched it yet.
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August 14, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Well, I’m a happy man if I watch 4-5 films a week.
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August 14, 2010 at 10:33 pm
So you felt this was pretty conventional – this has been picked up by artificial eye in the uk but I am pretty sure it is going to make it to art house cinemas later in the year. What do you think are the prospects of the film crossing over to a wider audience and what do you think of aamir khan’s role as a producer – i can sense the film has been marketed pretty intensively for what appears to be a niche film. I guess what your saying then is that this is a film that sensationalises the politics it attempts to explore? excellent review by the way.
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August 14, 2010 at 11:01 pm
HI Omar.
I think the film will surely be picked up by the western distributors since it has already played at Sundance. I didn’t intend to say that the film was regular stuff. It sure knows what its talking about. Just that it remains safe and the polemic remains supressed because it’s a mainstream film. I’d say it’s like that brilliant backbencher in the class who settles for a B. I think Khan will try to maintain the success he has had in production. I’m sure he’ll promote it even more in the west.
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August 16, 2010 at 10:35 am
[…] Just Another Film Buff continues to move around the world, and presently he has a superlative essay up on Peepli, a Hindi film at The Seventh Art. Even if you are unfamiliar with Hindi cinema, the review will convert you: https://theseventhart.info/2010/08/14/ellipsis-8/ […]
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August 16, 2010 at 5:19 pm
I have noted this on my ever expanding list and know I will see it one day.
Thanks for all the interesting introductions!
Cheers!
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August 17, 2010 at 3:52 pm
‘play safe’ was my first reaction .. simple example is while uttering corporate names (sonmanto or any media corporate) as compared to nations (bharat/american) .. cor-pirates pay/sue and nations watch
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August 17, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Ha. That’s correct. But by playing safe I did not mean that the film was afraid of mentioning the names, but that an analytical approach which would have implicated many more (and which many of us would not tolerate) was avoided.
Cheers!
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August 23, 2010 at 11:16 am
[…] Just Another Film Buff continues to move around the world, and presently he has a superlative essay up on Peepli, a Hindi film at The Seventh Art. Even if you are unfamiliar with Hindi cinema, the review will convert you: https://theseventhart.info/2010/08/14/ellipsis-8/ […]
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