Peepli [Live] gets a peek at Oscars !!!

Usually movies come with ratings and reviews which either takes us towards the movie or away from it. But Aamir Khan’s movies come with ‘compulsion’; a ‘must watch’ tag. When Aamir puts himself behind a movie, then all ratings and reviews fly out of the window; and people just want to watch the product at least once. And when that product turns out to be what ‘Peepli [Live]’ is, we understand what differentiates Aamir from the others.

Everyone has been gushing about the movie; even the media channels who have been mocked at in the movie. The tv channels have accepted it as a backhanded compliment that at least they showed the plight of the farmer, albeit in a sarcastic tone and for TRPs. I would sound repetitive if I said that ‘the movie was great…a satire on the political class and media … authentic … moving, etc etc. Rather than stating the obvious, let me just say that Shyam Benegal called the movie ‘a landmark film’ on a news channel some weeks back. After hearing the entire discussion, my mind took flight and I started wondering why this movie was chosen as India’s entry for the year 2011. http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20100924/1416/tnl-peepli-live-is-india-s-official-entr_1.html. Apart from the movie being a fine work of art, a concave view of the farmer’s plight, it’s also a telling statement on the society. Let me quickly list the things that go in favour of PL:

1.   Of all the movies that India has sent to Oscars, only 3 movies have been nominated in ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category – Mother India, Salaam Bombay and Lagaan. All three based on people with impoverished background in general, MI and Lagaan based on rural background in particular.
2. Having seen the success of Slumdog Millionaire and the various discussions on poverty-porn or poverty sells, PL seems to be just the kind of movie that the jury may favor.
3. most movies that were sent as India’s entry were barely showcased due to lack of funds. We have previously seen how Aamir and Ashutosh gave it their best in promoting ‘Lagaan’. By virtue of having been there before and done the hardwork, Aamir seems to be the ideal producer who can promote the movie. And also, his credibility can bring in the jurors and critics to give his movie a dekko.

Peepli [Live] works on all levels. It tells a great tale in a fascinating manner. The story itself is not all that new, a general apathy displayed by the political class and the discontent of the poor innocent villager. But the media-hawks flying down to the epicenter of the drama and the various bureaucratic procedures/hurdles gave the entire proceedings a satirical tone. Who can forget that line “We are waiting for the High Court orders” being oft repeated or the invasion of privacy where a man cannot answer nature’s call without the presence of security and tv cameras. What have we come to? Reporters/journalists chasing mal-mutra for TRPs!

I have this weird feeling that the movie has a better chance of winning the Oscar (because of above reasons) than of being selected as India’s entry. Let me hastily add that I have not spoken about any regional cinema here. As much as I have read and watched them, I wasn't sure if any of them could make it. Nonetheless,my personal choice was Peepli [Live] and I am glad that it got selected. Let me know what you think !