Just like in life,there is no formula for success in showbiz. But there is a thing called conviction if you have that in abundance and the courage to ride on it,then more or less,you can happily sail through. Going by his recent track-record,Aamir Khan seems to have patented the word conviction. The producer Khan put all his might into Peepli Live a faceless small little film and turned it into an event.
There are several well-meaning and brave films that ebb out painfully at the box office because they dont get the kind of release they should. Cinema is all about communicating a story and if you have a message in the story then it needs to find the audience for which it is intended. Aamirs backing ensured that Peepli Live found its audience and quite a wide one at that,if the early box office numbers are anything to go by.
Journalist-turned-director Anusha Rizvi makes a strong statement and an assured debut with Peepli Live. Undoubtedly,she had a crackling story to tell but even she will admit that without that Aamir brand of super power,Peepli Live would just have earned a standing ovation in some film festival in an exotic location. Aamirs fearless crusade to get a mainstream release for Peepli Live ensured that this little gem of a movie does not go the well-intended but largely unseen film route.
But this is not to take anything away from Anusha. Peepli Live is deliciously written,superbly acted and honestly directed. In Anusha,Bollywood has found a new voice and vision. She takes on the grim subject of farmer suicide and paints it with the hues of black humour. Some situations are so farcical that they make you laugh out loud,at some places,the film makes you cringe and in the end,it makes you very uncomfortable. Anusha has sprinkled Peepli Livewith neat little touches and vignettes some of which hit too close to home. Peepli Live is a film with a conscience and it prickles.
Anusha doesnt spare anyone in her scathing satire about life as we live it in India. She takes on the whole circus of conniving politicians,heartless bureaucrats and of course the media. Yes,Anusha takes a big swipe at the media especially the broadcast version and surprisingly,the media has taken it well.
Peepli Live is about the forgotten India that resides in villages. Its about farmers like Hori and Natha the faces of India we choose to forget. In Anushas canvas,they haunt. Peepli Live is a welcome reprieve from all the bubble wrapped yuppie urban stories that are all gloss and no substance. Peepli Lives strength lies in its Indian-ness. If we dont tell our stories then who will? In fact so far,the years best and high impact films have all been Indian stories Raajneeti,Love Sex Aur Dhoka,Ishqiya,Udaanand now Peepli Live. These are all about the India we know,the India that we have become,the India we can relate to.
Really,if we dont tell our stories,who will?
