DAMUL (1985)
by
Prakash Jha
Damul means someone who is bonded till death.
This creation of Prakash Jha which won the National Award for Best Feature Film must also rate among his very best and most honest of works.
Damul is the story of a village in Bihar in 1980s. The landlord, who is a Brahmin, uses all means at his disposal to perpetuate his absolute power and keep the backwards subjugated. He retains a monopoly over violence, uses all tricks to rig polls, keeps the system in his pocket, forces the poor to do begar (bonded labour) for him by cooking accounts and manufacturing fake documents, and is also the kingpin of cattle smuggling.
Lower castes find it impossible to come out of this vicious circle. They are not allowed to vote or take part in the political process. They cannot arrange guns for their security. Even if they want to go to Punjab to work at higher wages, they are not allowed to leave their settlements.
Manohar Singh plays the Brahmin landlord in his characteristic manner. Annu Kapoor plays a Damul who falls into the clutches of this devil incarnate of a landlord. Deepti Naval plays a widow who is sexually exploited by Manohar Singh.
One wonders how a director who once made Damul could deteriorate to the level of Rajneeti and Arakshan in a matter of 25 years! Such is life. Every hero does fall someday.
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