PAAR 40

Harsh Thakor

This year, on 21st May, film lovers commemorated the 40th anniversary of movie PAAR. It is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Goutam Ghose, with Naseeruddin  Shah and Shabana Azmi playing central roles. Based on the original Bengali story ‘Paari’ by Samaresh Basu, the film is based on a Dalit couple compelled to vacate their village after a massacre and their ordeal and quest for homecoming. In the film Goutam Ghose added new muscles to the storyline.

 PAAR is a defining work in Indian Parallel Cinema and can be compared with the works of greats like Mrinal Sen and Shyam Benegal.

In the history of Indian cinema, few films have so poignantly or illustratively captured the tumours of injustice ingrained in Indian society and how it shapes people’s lives. It is one of the most of sensitive and heartbreaking portrayals of the oppressed confronting agony or adversity, and how such circumstances shape their lives. The plight of the downtrodden, being crushed by the local and state politicians touches the viewer in the very core of the soul.

PAAR is an illustrative reflection of the exploitation rampant in rural India, combined with the evils of the caste system, lack of land reforms, and the brutality of the social order working hand in glove with the oppressors. It is a most realistic and uncompromising portrayal of the bondage of rural or Dalit poor being at the mercy of an oppressive society. Most intrinsically it captures the psyche of people in feudal society and how they revolve around the feudal system.

It is very relevant even in this day and age, with Brahmanical tyranny at an ascendancy, being rampant every rung of society, and caste massacres, a predominant feature in villages. This writer would love PAAR to be resurrected in an appropriate form today, in the age of globalisation, when economic disparity has escalated to levels unparalleled.

The film portrays how suffering can bring out the best in people or tap energy to new heights. as well as how battling adversity in an oppressive order spurs spiritual transformation within people.

The narrative was based in the background of Bihar, a state that had started experiencing great social unrest and be the scenario of several massacres from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, similar to the one depicted in the film. It captured how in the very heart of society the upper caste landlords and their henchmen morally governed the society, placing Dalit and lower caste peasantry under their yoke.

The film received a great ovation, winning several national and international awards. Naseeruddin Shah won a Volpi Cup for his performance at the Venice Film Festival.

Ghose contrives a plot for Naurangia and Rama to leave their village and establishes how and why they were trapped. The schoolmaster (Anil Chatterjee), who had helped Naurangia and his ilk confront the injustices of their landlord (Utpal Dutt), has died in a suspicious road accident. Seeking revenge, Naurangia and three others murder the zamindar’s aggressive brother (Mohan Agashe). The zamindar’s men set the village ablaze forcing Naurangia and Rama to flee into the night. In spite of misgivings, being deceived, and low on luck, there was still been some energy in their reserves to battle in the doldrums, but now there was hunger and untold despair.

A journey triggered by circumstances and not out of choice leads them to land on the footpaths of Kolkata. After serious efforts to find sustenance elsewhere, the two decide to return home. To earn the fare, they agree to drive the herd of pigs through the river.

The job that appears is a terrifying task which only the most merciless can offer and which only the desperate can accept. They nearly drown before reaching safety. At the conclusion of the exhaustive journey, Naurangia receives their payment. As they lie exhausted at night, Rama suddenly realises that the baby has been, too silent and starts to panic Naurangia places his ear to her belly and listens to the heartbeats of the unborn baby.

Most commendable is that the film has no vulgarity, extravagant costumes, or artificiality. It has the character of the Brechtian realism.

Ghose’s eye for poetic imagery led to several visually capturing scenes. The massacre of the labourers takes place in the shell of darkness, and their confusion and fear are depicted by flashes of torchlight. Ghose used low-speed film stock to create an atmosphere as well as project the lack of adequate lighting in the village.

Ghose’s scenario, music, photography and direction make PAAR simply a mystifying experience like very few films.

The body language of defeat is stark in its projection that voices defeat noiselessly. However, when the time comes to transport the pigs, the same defeated bodies are spurred for a desperate bid fight for survival. The conclusion when Rama’s child is still alive in the stomach symbolises hope over despair.

Anil Chaterjee is brilliant in portraying a rebellious spirit against injustice, by giving impetus to the self-identity of oppressed farmers and labourers.

Om Puri, as Ram Naresh, in a crafty, nuanced manner, enacts the Dalit Village Head who won the Panchayat elections, thereby offending the rich and powerful.

[Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist. Thanks for the information from Nandini Ramnath in Film Flashback in Scroll, Movie Mahal and Art House Cinema.]

 [Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist. Thanks for the information from Nandini Ramnath in Film Flashback in Scroll, Movie Mahal and Art House Cinema.]

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