peepli (live)!

'Peepli (live)!’
• much after you have stopped chuckling at the bewildered innocence of the unwilling-to-commit-suicide-farmer, Natha (where did they find such a cute, loveable & perfect Natha?!) ...
• when the laughs have died down, at the wily manipulation, of the cunning & hugely talented Raghuvir Yadav, in nudging his brother to end his life, to make some money....
• jab the gasps, at the ruthless ‘story ke liye saalaa kuchh bhi karega’, attitude of the media are done with ...
• the comic political by play, the treacherous election plots, where each player wants his pound of flesh – (Naseeruddin Shah as usual, outstanding!) – you go past that ...
• that indecisive state of mind, when you don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the media madness, when they are willing to even examine the shit of a human being & do a full piece on it, for TRP’s – after that is over ...
• when enough time has been spent marvelling at the brilliant, spot on casting – the cantankerous, foul mouthed amma, the strong, bitter, tough as nails wife, the hateful, hard female reporter (was I imagining it, or did she have shades of Barkha Dutt!), the Jan Morcha reporter with a conscience ... I could go on & on ....

when this masterpiece of a movie heads towards its morbid climax .... you experience stillness, a sense of restlessness, a deep burden of guilt, at the honest portrayal of the way things are ...

The escapist in me almost craved a happy ending – to subdue that uneasy, queasy weight in my heart, that starkly told that it’s all real, despite the movie beginning with the disclaimer, that this is a piece of fiction!
Kudos to the director, Anusha Rizvi (an ex NDTV product)!

As for the awesome music of Indian Ocean, you barely hear the earthy, rustic, lilting tunes, because they blend so naturally with the surroundings!

Thank-you Aamir Khan – may your tribe increase!!