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Tax free but 'Manjhi The Mountain Man' may not help Nitish woo Mahadalits

N Kumar | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 3:55 IST
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The set up

  • Dashrath Manjhi\'s life has always been ripe for Bollywood; he carved a path through a mountain three decades ago
  • Manjhi - The Mountain Man had a lot going for it
  • Pre-release buzz, a star cast and tax-free viewing
  • The last a shrewd political move by Nitish Kumar, trying to battle with Jitan Ram Manjhi and the BJP on caste
  • Dashrath Manjhi, after all, hailed from Gaya, Jitan Ram Manjhi\'s stronghold

The disappointment

  • Sadly, the movie is out of reach for common Biharis
  • In Patna and Gaya, it\'s released in theatres usually frequented by the rich
  • Ironic, since even after Manjhi\'s struggle, elites had always been suspicious and accusatory
  • The movie, too, leaves much to be desired
  • The Bollywoodisation has resulted in absurd set ups most Biharis would find incomprehensible

Manjhi- The Mountain Man had generated a lot of buzz before it was even out, with director Ketan Mehta rightly showered with accolades for bringing to the big screen the fascinating saga of a common labourer from Bihar.

To make a film on a man like Dashrath Manjhi is no easy task; the man has, after all, gone down in history for having carved a path through a mountain three decades ago. His determination and his total devotion to his wife Fagunia made his story particularly worthy of a film adaptation.

Whose movie is it anyway?

The movie was also politicised from the very start. Dashrath Manjhi hailed from Gaya, the stronghold of Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Nitish Kumar stole the initiative before Jitan Ram Manjhi could cash in. The government promptly declared the movie tax-free in Bihar, even before anyone in the government having seen the movie, according to sources.

Clearly, Nitish Kumar did not want to cede any ground to his former peer Manjhi. It was also his trump card against the BJP, which has been playing the Dalit card by harping on Governor Ram Nath's caste credentials.

The real disappointment, though, came after the movie was released.

It was only shown in one theatre in Patna, which obviously has the biggest audience in the state. The single theatre in question was the Cinepolis, with four shows; the choice of theatre is odd too, since most people in Patna frequent and prefer the city's other three theatres - Mona Cinema, Elphinstone Cinema and the Regent Cinema. They are near Gandhi Maidan and thus more accessible to all classes of moviegoers.

Cinepolis, on the other hand, is located at the other end of the city and frequented by the well-to-do.

The story was no different in Dashrath Manjhi's own city of Gaya. Only one out of the five theatres chose to show the movie, and not even in one single-screen theatre.

Gaya residents could only watch the movie in theatres located inside shopping malls - once again, obviously a place where mostly affluent people go.

Manjhi gave the common Bihari man a sense of pride. It's ironic, then, that the common man was shut out

Manjhi neither represented this class, nor did they have anything to do with his life and struggle. In fact, Manjhi was ridiculed by elites even after he had accomplished his task. Some accused him of being theatrical, while others wondered if he was selling the stone from the mountain.

They nitpicked at him to the extent that some even questioned his right to do what he did without having gotten the proper environmental clearances.

The insinuations notwithstanding, it's a fact that Manjhi was a hero of the labour class. He gave the common Bihari man a sense of pride. It's ironic, then, that the common man was shut out of the movie.

Falling short

Meanwhile, it's not even that the movie is perfect. The response to the movie has been lukewarm at best in Patna. While Nawazuddin Siddiqui was immaculate in his portrayal of Manjhi, the jury is out on Mehta's treatment of the characters and aspects of his life.

For instance, in the movie, Manjhi gifts his wife a Taj Mahal souvenir. This is likely completely unrelatable for most Biharis, especially the downtrodden Musahar community that Manjhi belonged to.

Then there's the scene where the husband and wife engage in a pillow flight - the over-the-top, dramatic expression of love is as far removed from Manjhi's reality as possible.

And then, inexplicably, Naxalism becomes a plot point, once Manjhi has broken through the mountain. One might ask where these red ultras were for the 15 long years when Manjhi was still at it?

As a side note, the scene depicting the death of Manjhi's wife is also misleading. She didn't die after falling from a narrow path as shown in the movie. She passed away much later due to illness.

Fagunia was witness to Dashrath Manjhi's painstaking efforts for quite some time.

It all goes to show that, even with the best of intentions, there can be so much left wanting when telling stories about the common man.

First published: 25 August 2015, 7:43 IST
 
N Kumar @CatchNews

Is a freelance journalist based in Patna. He writes prolifically on politics, caste and economic reforms.