Mukti bhawan 2017
by
Subhashish bhutiani
The Ganges flow in Kanpur as well as in Patna.Why is it then
that moksha is sought and found only in Kashi ? God is everywhere.But Moksha is
not about God.Or is it ? What is the point in visiting temples and embarking on
pilgrimges ? One who is born will surely die.Why go through the motions and
suffer in the process of living ? There are perhaps no answers,only faith.It is
our belief that keeps us going.
How does a person know his time has come? How does he sense
his imminent death ? How does anyone ,even the doctors conclude? Life is guided
by instinct.Sure ,we have simplified
life and death a bit by
developing science,using maths and accounts and putting down knowledge in
languages.But most key decisions are based on gut feeling .When desire to live
flees one,death lays its trap.
The debutant director raises the question of Salvation in
the Promised Land.A 77 year old man declares one fine day that he is ready to
make the final journey,and would proceed to Varanasi to get mokhsa.His son,an
accountant and a householder,tries to dissuade him ,without success and finally
the duo leave together for the holy city.The old man wants to die,but
one cant summon death.On the ghats of Benaras,the father and the son rekindle
their relationship.As the warden of the Mukti Bhawan expounded,death is a
process. One is ready to depart only when one has broken all bonds and there is
nothing to look forward to.This is a poignant theme,but the director has
handled it very beautifully.
If the film is about death,it is also about celebration of
life.Plodding through the daily routine,one just takes relationships for
granted.Especially the ones which are closest ,nearest and dearest to him.There
is a breakdown of dialogue between people in this age .The contrast with the
past is curious.Generations before us,maybe even half a century back were not
as verbose and expressive as we are today.The dramatis personae felt their bonds,understood their relationships.Now that we have more freedom
and are profligate with words,we are
awfully short of time.
SB has made a gem of a film.It is set in benaras but it is
not about the great city.It focuses on the ‘process’of dying ,and explores
human relationships at their most vulnerable .It never degenerates into a
sentimental tear-fest.The music is quite
in keeping with the setting and the pace.The directoR never falls for the
temptation to delve into subplots.Adil
hussain ,as the son torn between love and duty towards his father(
played by Lalit behl ) one one hand
and worldy persuits on other,has
delivered a wonderful,subdued performace.His father,wife and daughter have also
maintained the tempo throughout. At 99 minutes , this is a small film by indian
standards,but its quite appropriate a length.There was a lot of buzz around MB
and Bhutiani.It was quite justified.This is perhaps the most profound of Indian
films which I have watched in recent years.
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