Peepli Live, a low budget movie produced by Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao, is a social commentary on farmer suicides in India, as well as on dirty politics and media sensationalism. Set in the village of Peepli, which has a huge population of farmers, the film stars a number of relatively unknown actors(infact,some of the actors are actually residents of Peepli). The film focuses on one farmer, who contemplates committing suicide in order for his family to get compensation money of Rs 100,000. The money will help the family pay the mortgage for their residential land, which is currently facing the threat of government seizure.
What unfolds next is a plot consisting of several characters and agencies such as various political parties, news channels and journalists, which become embattled in a broil over their varying decisions regarding the farmer's fate.The audience is exposed to the ugly side of the news media, namely sensationalism and propaganda, as well as the (forceful) influence of politicians on decisions regarding pressing social issues (farmer suicides,in this case) and the way they are relayed to the public through the media.
Naseerudin Shah(the only famous actor in the movie), who plays the agriculture minister, is perhaps the person whose role and acting stand out the most. He portrays the conventional, selfish and ruthless politician, and this is highlighted magnificently in a scene where, when being questioned in a television interview about the solution to farmer suicides, he replies in a matter of fact tone,"more industrialization!"
The protagonist in the film does not have many dialogues and has a somewhat blank countenance throughout, but on the other hand, this could have been done deliberately to show his utter helplessness in making a decision about his own life in the faces of journalists and politicians.
The only drawback in the movie is the language, which being a particular Hindi dialect is hard for many people to understand.
On the whole, Peepli Live gives a very realistic and somewhat frightening picture of ugly politics and media sensationalism. The ending left me with a bitter taste,since it gave a very dark and pessimistic view of society and its savagery.
rating: 4/5
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