Peepli [Live]
The film is very engrossing. Debutante director Anusha Rizvi has showed her prowess in dealing the subject with utter perfection. The script is very intelligent and witty. What makes the film special is that you can’t draw a line parallel to any Bollywood film. It is unique in presentation. The film deals with a serious matter but presented in a very humorous way. It takes little time to get acquainted with the characters Natha, Budhia, Natha’s wife, mother but once you understand their role and get accustomed with the rural language, the task become easier. Then you are totally into their world and hence excitement level rises higher. The political scenario is very well depicted in the film. It shows that to gain profit how people take benefit of one’s death. Life of a person becomes priceless and more or less becomes a laughing stock.
It is a story about a poor farmer named Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri). He lives in a village called Peepli. Poor Natha is on the verge of losing his plot to the government as he is unable to repay the loan. Meanwhile, a new policy of the government is known. According to the policy, if a person commits suicide then his debt will be cut. To support his family and save his land, Natha chooses to give his life. Much to the delight, his brother
Add to Natha’s panic is the local election which is round the corner. Local politicians, high bureaucrats jumped into the issue to find if they can earn some benefits from Natha’s suicide story. Making things worse is the local media. They reported every movement of Natha and it was shown live in every channels. The fact that arose the curiosity level and drives the story forward is whether Natha would really commit suicide or it is just a hoax. Natha’s wife is busy with her household chores, his old mother shouts at his wife, his young son urges his father to die so that he can use the money to become a policeman.
Writer and director Anusha Rizvi shows that she has the caliber to handle any tough subject with perfection. The way she dealt with the critical subject throws signal that she has a long way to go. Dialogues go very well with the rural background. Cinematography is brilliant. The music is raw, folk based and sounds good.
Speaking about performances, the main protagonist Omkar Das Manikpuri is exceptional. He gets into the skin of the character and able to bring perfection.
In the nutshell, Peepli [Live] is surely going to leave a long impression. It’s a film not to be seen and forgotten. It would not only attract the Indian audience but will take the global audience with a strom. It will strike gold at the box office. Well, Aamir has again scored sixer.