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 best and most honest of works.
It is the story of a village in Bihar in the 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 up accounts and manufacturing fake documents and is the kingpin of cattle smuggling.
The lower castes find it impossible to come out of the vicious circle. They are not allowed to vote,or take part in the political process. They cannot arrange for guns. Even if they want to go to Punjab to work at higher wages, they are not allowed to leave.
Manohar Singh plays the Brahmin landlord in his characteristic manner. Annu Kapoor plays a Damul who falls into the clutches of the landlord. Deepti Naval plays a widow who is sexually exploited by Manohar Singh.
One wonders how could a director who made Damul could fall to the level of Rajneeti and Arakshan in a matter of 25 years!
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