Peepli (Live)

Director: Anusha Rizvi
Cast: Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghubir Yadav
Releasing in cinemas: 12 August 2010
Rated: M

My experience of viewing this film is filtered by attending the premiere at MIFF with a largely Indian audience who saw nuances in the dark satire more easily than myself. The film is essentially a satire showing one reality of India’s rural community today.

Much to the delight of the audience, the producer of the film and megastar of Indian cinema Aamir Khan was flown in from Mumbai for the occasion. His wild adoration from the crowd would have equalled The Beatles’ visit.

In Peepli, a small village in Central India, a poverty stricken farmer Natha, his brother Budhia and their family are about to lose everything as they’re unable to repay a loan. Then they hear news of a Government program which offers the family of any farmer who commits suicide a special compensation payment of 100,000 rupees ($2,000) - to them a small fortune.

Budhia, a good talker, manages to convince Natha it would solve all their problems for him to kill himself. Finally, under duress, Natha agrees. Little does he imagine the storm his decision will bring on his family and the village. Bureaucrats, Government officials, and local power brokers become embroiled in the media circus that erupts in the little town when the story of Natha’s impending suicide gets out.

As in Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, a frenzied media blows the story to giant proportions, exploiting it to their own ends. The story becomes a TV news saga which attracts many viewers. But when a bewildered Natha disappears, things come to boiling point.

Peepli is typical of many Indian villages which suffer poverty and degradation. While the film plays on the comic side of the story, there’s more than enough realism to keep one firmly anchored. It’s often an acute observation of Natha’s family, including the prickly grandmother. Another sick farmer is so deeply in debt he digs a huge hole in his small plot to sell the dirt; a useless undertaking which finally kills him.

Director Anusha Rizvi moves the story along at a modest pace, taking time to gather steam so towards the end, though it feels somewhat laboured. Yet there is a sincerity of approach here, and we do get a great feeling for the place and characters. There are few loud laughs, though ironic humour is never far from the surface. Performances convince, especially the naive Natha as played by screen newcomer Omkar Das Manikpuri, and his wily brother Budhia interpreted by Raghubir Yadav (Salaam Bombay).

Typically, the songs and music are strong on the soundtrack, yet thankfully it avoids any trace of Bollywood dance routines. At the end of the premiere screening was a Q&A session with Aamir Khan, although it turned into a mutual admiration show. One girl from the crowd asking if Aamir would give her a hug. Fortunately he refused and offered a handshake instead; otherwise there could have been pandemonium with half the audience storming the stage for embraces. Khan surely must be the most popular Indian celebrity since Gandhi.

All in all, this is an unusual satire which throws light on the difficult task of survival in contemporary village life. The dark fact behind the story is that up to 200,000 impoverished farmers committed suicide in the decade between 1997-2007. The Indian Government finally set about compensating suicides with payments of 100,000 rupees. It must be said Peepli (Live) certainly won Indian hearts in the first night audience.

John Bale