Director: Ketan Mehta
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte and Tigmanshu Dhulia
Rating: 4.5/5
Based on the inspiring and powerful real-life story of Dashrath Manjhi, Ketan Mehta's biopic, Manjhi The Mountain Man, hits theatres on Friday. Dashrath Manjhi, better known as the Mountain Man of Bihar, carved a path through a mountain in Gehlaur (Gaya), toiling away for 22 years alone just with the help of a hammer and a chisel. With as powerful a story and brilliant actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte, this is one film you cannot miss, whatever your taste in films.
Nawazuddin plays Dashrath Manjhi while Radhika essays the role of his wife, Faguniya. The couple lives in Gehlaur (Gaya), a village separated from basic amenities like hospitals and schools because of a mountain. One day, Faguniya dies after falling from the mountain and a dying Radhika tells Nawaz, "Hum pahad paar nahi kar pae, bahut uncha hai." His wife's death triggers Manjhi into action and he decides to ensure no one else in the village has to go through the same hardship. Manjhi The Mountain Man traces his tumultuous journey of triumph over nature, how one man fights friends, family and even the bureaucratic red tape to realise his dreams.
Nawazuddin is, without doubt, the pillar of the film, and even its most impressive part. During promotions for the movie, the actor, who was last seen in Salman Khan's superhit Bajrangi Bhaijaan, had said that this was his most difficult role yet. But with a director like Ketan Mehta calling the shots, you do not see that at all. What you see is an effortless performance. There isn't a single moment in the entire film where you can separate Nawazuddin from Dashrath! Be it revolting against the zamindar of the village or toiling for decades in memory of his wife, he brings out all the emotions with effortless ease. One of the most striking scenes is the one where Dashrath is arrested and told that he might rot in jail for the rest of his life. As he talks to himself and says, "Hum haar gae Faguniya, lagta hai bina rasta banae hi mar jayenge," the helplessness in his eyes breaks your heart.
There is another sequence where Nawazuddin is bitten on his foot by a snake that finds it way out in the open after he has cut through half of the mountain. He staggers, cries out in pain and soon cuts out the thumb that was bitten. Thanks to Nawaz’s acting, you can actually feel his determination to live on and the pain he must face at the moment. This is undoubtedly the kind of performance where you can say Nawazuddin deserves all the awards out there, and as the lead hero this time.
Nawaz also has the most powerful and touching dialogues in the film. Sample some of these:
"Hum tose itta pyaar karte hain, itta pyaar karte hain, itta pyaar karte hain, kitta pyaar karte hain? Hanuman jee ki tarah seena cheer ke dikhayein?"
"Bhagwan ke bharose mat baitho, ka pata u humre bharose baitha ho!"
And of course, the one that we’ve heard in trailers: "Pahad tode se bhi mushkil kaam hai ka?"
Manjhi The Mountain Man is also one of the most touching and inspiring love stories we have seen in recent times. Married in childhood, Manjhi and Faguniya hardly spent 4-5 years together before the wife fell off the mountain and succumbed to her injuries for lack of timely medical treatment. The bond the duo develops, can be clearly seen in the 22-year-long struggle Manjhi went through to ensure no one else dies the kind of death his wife did. Ketan Mehta, too, has ensured that romance is underlined perfectly. Each time Dashrath Manjhi is about to lose his patience, Faguniya's spirit appears and reminds him why he needs to do it, charging him up all over again. And, when the villagers are celebrating once Manjhi has carved out the way, he also sees Faguniya dancing along in colourful attire.
The socio-political milleu of Dashrath Manjhi is not lost on Ketan Mehta. He has made brilliant use of minute details to ensure the changes around Dashrath are also chronicled well. Manjhi was born a Mushar (the caste of bonded farm labours, known for killing and eating rats - moos- hence the name). The heinous practice of untouchability is also shown. As a young child, Dashrath ran away from his village to escape bonded labour of the zamindar (played by Tigmanshu Dhulia) and returned after seven years, when untouchability was made illegal. We see the zamindar greeting him warmly (Nawaz is colourfully clad in bright pink trousers, yellow shirt and black shades, to show that he has returned from the city, Dhanbad in this case) but the moment he gets to know that Nawaz is the son of one his former bonded labourers, he instinctively backs off, as if from a shock!
As they say, God lies in details and same applies for the art of cinema. Ketan Mehta has paid attention to minute details of Manjhi’s milleu and culture, ensuring you can rarely accuse his portrayal of the powerful man of being an outsider’s perspective. Mehta has also made brilliant use of the details to highlight the politics of caste and class. There is one sequence where Indira Gandhi arrives at Gaya and while she’s delivering her speech and the famous slogan ‘Gareebi hatao’, the stage crumbles. People from the crowd are asked to support the stage to ensure Gandhi can continue with her speech. And there we see the prime minister of India posing as the great leader of change, only on the shoulders of the common man. The Emergency is also shown in the movie, with cops and the ruling class threatening Manjhi that he’s chosen the wrong timing to revolt against the corrupt bureaucrats and they can simply send him to rot in jail, without much proof.
Manjhi The Mountain Man also touches upon the ever-burning issue of ‘Naxalites’. Fed up with the atrocities of the 'upper caste', especially the village head and zamindar Nirbhay Singh, one of Manjhi’s friends turns a rebel and returns to the village with a group of men flashing guns and hangs Nirbhay to death. And no, just because a poor man is the hero here, Ketan Mehta does not end up advocating Naxalism. We see one of the musahars taking to the guns while our hero, Dashrath, argues with the friend-turned-Naxal and tells him that guns are no solution, getting hit in return for his advice.
The main and powerful themes that run throughout the movie are love, passion and the strength of a man’s willpower. From fighting corrupt bureaucrats to over-indulging villagers and annoying family members, Manjhi fights all odds to ensure that he completes the task he took upon himself, one that will serve the mankind, not for a selfish cause. Ketan Mehta uses his camera aptly to capture of the grandeur of the mountain that Manjhi is fighting.
However, there are a few moments in the film that might spoil an otherwise enchanting experience. Most of the side characters goof up with the accent of the dialect popular in the region. In fact, except for Nawazuddin, Tigmanshu, Radhika and Pankaj Tripathi (who plays the village head's son), everyone seems to have put on a fake ‘Bihari’ accent that seems too forced. Also, in the first thirty minutes or so, Mehta shows a very Bollywood-ised romance between Nawazuddin and Radhika. At best, this should have been part of a dream sequence and not real events. Given the realism of the story and the film otherwise, the flying sarees and Radhika roaming around without blouses do not quite fit into the cultural milieu of the story.
Watch Manjhi trailer
Still, it is easy to ignore all the weaknesses of Manjhi The Mountain Man. The inspiring narrative, enchanting love story and mesmerising performances make for a wonderful cinematic experience. Watch it for Nawazuddin and Radhika’s acting, watch it for Dashrath Manjhi’s empowering will-power, watch it for the sheer realism with which Ketan Mehta has put it all together - take your pick. But we’d say that if there’s one movie you shall watch this year, let it be Manjhi.
Interact with the author @swetakaushal.
Read: Dashrath Manjhi, the mountain man of Bihar
Read: Other movie reviews
