i saw Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi today and have some major problems with the film!after having heard so many accounts of the Naxalbari movement from my Jethu,i felt the film was inadequate in translating into celluloid the real essence of the movement,and thus didnt quite live upto all the ravings i was subjected to,by my friends here.
guess the domestic realities of the movement for the people here and in Cal are very different-here it was just a small fraction of students in JNU who joined in but in Cal,there were thousands of homes,like mine,which saw their sons come back with cuts on their faces and bruised legs...
as i type this post,the MS Word software is drawing a red line beneath the word 'Naxalbari' and in a strange way,it is disturbing.i live in a house which is built on the land which is believed to have served as a dumping ground for bodies of the people who lost their lives in the movement,my childhood stories talked of how my uncle nearly lost his foot because a bomb happened to burst only a few metres away from him and today when i sit back recalling all this,i am told the word 'Naxalbari' isn't meant to be a word at all just because a group of American peabrains is uneducated enough to have never heard of something which changed the way my city looked...
i know,i am losing it but thank God for Amitav Ghosh and Shadow Lines-my eternal provider of solace!
18 comments:
:)
aamader sohor r backdrop shoto shoto chaya aache,onek kanna aache jar opore multiplex chok chok korche..thanks shei kanna gulo k sei mayeder hahakargulo k r shashok dol er borborota(not intentional i knw) k condemn korar jonne..
hahakargulo ke shikriti dewar jonne*
I have major issues with the film. Cinematically there are a few nice moments especially when the gun gets jammed in the paddy field and the policeman starts beating with teh other end...its very neorealistic...however I din't like the film.
i like shadow lines too.
very sweet. close to me heart as well :)
Ive always felt that the movement in the movie has been heavily overshadowed.
Yes,also the movement was very different from what it was in cal and what has been showed.
I liked the movie,but not much from a political point of view.
i completely resonate ur thought here
@moolah:absolutely,i dont agree with its context.as a film,its ok i guess
hazaron khwashiyen aisi isnt about naxalbari. it is as much about naxalbari as The motorcycle diaries is about communism. If you ask me, i would says its a love story!
@sap:absolutely,thats where my problem with it sets in...they call it a "story of politics" in its opening credits...which MD doesnt
shadowlines!! One of my most favourite books ever!
As for the movie, I watched it only in bits and pieces. Will catch up with it and return to comment.:)
When did anybody every say about the motorcycle diaries being about communism??
@neel:it is not...that's why the comment!which means HKA is not about the naxal movement at all!
Many times films ruin the essence and lack the actual ethos-pathos. Hence I stick to books.
Amitav Ghosh is, one of the best authors of our times.
i bought the dvd today, came back home and saw this post.
wait wait.
bught high five @ shadow lines.
Whether you like the movie is solely a question of personal choice. But to expect the spell check functionality of a global software to acknowledge the existence of an ideology that never survived in its heartland is stretching Bengali romanticism too far.
And the movie spoke of a movement that flickered in the center of Indian political powerhouse. The protagonist acknowledges that his inspiration was a trip to Calcutta. The movie showcased the effect it has on an individual and through him on two others. And it also showcased the change it brought about in the heart of Bihar. And those are powerful changes and the movie should be credited for the same.
On similar lines will you consider Hazar Chaurasi ki ma, the movie or the original book to be a portrayal of the movement?
As far as Calcutta and her sons and their ideology of the 70s are concerned, the merits or demerits of the movement will be tested by time. But a quick reality check around your (and mine) city will show you the awareness levels reaching a state of complete ignorance about Tebhaga, Kanu Sanyal or even Charu Majumdar.
Sometimes they say time and not historians test the strength of an ideology.
@banjo:i havent completely written off the film...infact even i think there are some great cinematic moments.but truthfully speaking,i had certain issues believing what i saw on screen-firstly,there's nothing in the film which speaks of anything particularly and precisely related to the Naxalbari movement...it is and can be seen as a film set against the backdrop of any movement and not a particular one.Kay Kay Menon's character was very much a part of campus anti-capitalist politics long before he goes to calcutta in the film...i agree he sought his inspiration from the movement,but that was all what the movement stood for in the film...so calling it a film OF the naxalbari movement,would be some sort of an overestimation.
that apart,speaking strictly for me,it does hurt how something which still haunts my family like a nightmare is an alien movement to people who inhabit the same world...and also vice-versa.
you call it romanticism,i call it plain "feeling bad".
plus,just to remind you,i am not trying to pushy my opinion down anyone's throat-just stating what i think and i think i am well entitled to do so.
aww... shadow lines.. damn bedatri.. i miss you so...
@ little Boxes - No need to remind me :) Have been a supporter of free speech all my life since I understood(hopefully) what it meant :D but this does pave way for good debates(which since coming out of Cal I miss)
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