Oct 09, 2007 11:22 AM
4575 Views
Eklavya has been chosen as the Indian entry in the foreign language film category at the Oscars. It was competing against the following films: Chak de India, Gandhi my father and Dharam,
Apparently many people are shocked that a "flop" film should be sent for the oscars. Worse, the film does not even have any arty background to compensate for the lack of commercial success. I heartily disagree with this attitude towards the film. I think given the options, Eklavya is the most reasonable choice. Firstly a hit or a flop film does not say anything about the talent behind a film. Most oscar-winning hollywood films never find a large audience. It is only in India that the box-office fate of a film combined with the clout of its producers and actors determines the award-winning potential of a film. Secondly Eklavya has a more universal theme than CDI or GMF. It is likely to be more appealing to an international audience.
Oppression, its meek acceptance and then finally its unconditional dismissal constitutes the story of Eklavya. True egalitarianism cannot be really understood let alone accepted by most people. This I think is true of any people not just indians. There is an atavistic allure to the theory of gruoup superiority. In blood diamond, the native African is given these lines to mouth: "It was better when the white people ruled" . No doubt after causing much of the suffering there, many whites actually believe that. An inferior people. A superior people. These are almost hypnotic suggestions, needing no logical justifications.
When I first heard the story of Eklavya I was disgusted and angry with both Dronacharya and Arjuna. But most people perceive it as THE story exemplifying the ideal of complete subservience to the Guru. The Guru Shishya parampara has been serenely paraded over centuries in the form of this horrifying story of betrayal. Eklavya is supposed to be this tragi-heroic figure and the cutting of his thumb - a noble gesture. No one cares to know what happens to him afterwards - after the raison d'etre of his life is taken away as "dakshina". In fact I ended up thinking that people like Eklavya deserve to be treated shabbily by the dronacharyas of this world. But the truth is that social conditioning is the strongest of weapons. It can even make a virtue out of indignity. When a section of society cannot distinguish between abject obedience to a manipulative other and loyalty to a leader who genuinely has their interest at heart, it is easy to rule them. There is a shame in being so simple that you can be fooled into serving the interest of another. In actually taking pride in doing so. Eklavya cuts off his thumb, gives up any meaning life may have so that Arjuna is the greatest living archer - just as Dronacharya said he would be. Where is the glory in this?
Chopra's Eklavya takes this complex concept and attempts to expose it. My grouse with the film is that Chopra is clearly so obsessed with Bachans character, he forgets to create empathy for the equally important characters of Saif and Sharmila. Ultimately his story failed to convince an audience that was already unreceptive to many of the notions this film takes for granted. However, a different audience may well see nothing improper in the queens love for the guard, or the fathers' inability to sacrifice the good son in the name of the merely powerful.
The film stakes a claim for genuine equality - let each person be judged by his own abilities, not his descent. It attacks traditionally held attitudes towards lineage and all that gibberish. In one scene, the "low-caste" Sunjay Dutt pees agains the royal palace where, centuries ago his ancestors had been buried as sacrifices to the gods to ensure a firm foundation. This crude gesture speaks of the seething contempt any person should rightly hold towards the whole idea of a superior breed of humans. What I liked about this film was this aggressive display of unrepentant anger towards the self-declared betters who hide their cowardice, their very ordinariness behind walls of tradition.
The movie also has a lush, poetic cinematography and a "moody" atmosphere that is very interesting. I agree Eklavya could have been much better; it missed the mark(pun intended) perhaps. But it has its heart in the right place. And as such is a perfectly valid entry for the oscars.
The meek will never inherit the earth, unless they learn to simply take what is rightfully theirs.
