To be aired on Zee Premier
13th November
1pm
In spite of it being the Official Indian entry to the Oscars last year,this was a movie that didn't do too well...and frankly I might have not seen the movie in the theater myself if I hadn't got a free ticket...Because apart from the fact that this is an aamir khan production, there's nothing else that would interest a person to go and buy the ticket...But what this movie lacked for in publicity, it made up for in content. The fact is that Peepli Live is such an honest movie, that it will connect with you even if you have no idea or connect with the rural India...because that's exactly what this movie talks about and also delivers a message in the most subtle way possible along with loads and loads of comedy. In short it's the perfect Indian comic satire.
The premise is based in the fictional village of Peepli in Mukhya Pradesh where two brothers, Natha and Budhia are poverty stricken and find it hard to keep the house running. Neck deep in loans the brothers pretend to go farming and end up drinking alcohol instead, with an attempt to erase tensions of their land or house being stripped off. Ultimately of course the bank demands the repayment of the loan, failing which, they would be homeless. Natha is encouraged by his brother to commit suicide so that the Government will provide Rs. 1 lakh to the family which would be an end to all their problems. I know it sounds depressing so far but here's the twist...Natha and his brother are overheard by a news reporter about this at a tea stall and what follows is chaos in the Little village. News channels, politicians everyone make their way and Natha is an instant celebrity or in other words the news of the hour.This is probably the best hour or so of black comedy that you will ever see in Indian cinema. ( barring Delhi Belly of course, which co-incidentally is also an aamir khan production ).It's funny, it's brutal and will change your perception of rural India all together. The ending is unpredictable too and does not demand patience at all.
Among the performances, Natha, played by first time actor-Omkar Das Manikpuri has to be the pick of the lot. He holds the movie together and is an absolute delight to watch. there could not have been a better Natha. Also Kumar Deepak, played by Vishal Sharma is the ultimate hindi journalist you would have ever seen for whom no small story is small enough.
And one has to really credit Indian Ocean for the soulful background song that catches the movie's mood just right. Last and definitely not the least-Director Anusha Rizvi, a former journalist herself gets everything right in her debut venture, and this is hoping that there's many more movies just like that...Kudos to her...
I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Peepli Live. It is time well spent.
Keep Reeling!!!
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