May 30, 2016 07:29 PM
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There is nothing very novel in the basic plot of the film. It is a spin-off on tipical love stories like that of Romeo – Juliet, but with a caste angle. Instead of two warring families we here have the big wall of the caste system that the two star crossed lovers have had the courage to climb.
After all these years I don’t really think most people go to the movies just to see the stories unfold; it is more about how you are saying whatever that you want to say, that matters. Quite a few marathi films these days take up fresh and unexplored subjects, but the execution is most of the times not upto the mark. Nagraj Manjule, however, clearly knows how to tell his storymaking Sairat a nearly 3 hour saga that hardly leaves you off the hook in its entire duration.
Parsha is the cricket team captain and the brightest student in his year but the beautiful and confident Aarchi is out of his reach. She belongs to a higher caste, her family is rich and her father is a kingpin in local politics. But Aarchi is a headstrong girl who wont let anyone boss her around and she likes the persistent, brave Parsha. How will their families react?
What happens to love when when two people have to sacrifice everything for it? Directed by Nagraj Manjule and beyond the glamour of Bollywood, the movie is an epic love story that takes a critical look at Indian society in the 21st century. Sairat is a long film. A 170 minutes film for today’s times is certainly very long. But barring a few instances like the chase sequence in the first half, you don’t really feel the film drags at all. Nagraj Manjule packed a punch with a arthouse film like Fandry. But Sairat goes to show what a good mainstream director Nagraj Manjule is that his film holds your attention all throughout.
But it is the end which makes you doff your hat to the man. After the masterfully directed last scene of the film is over you realize that the long duration and the playful nearly filmy romance of the first half was so crucial to the film. Without them you wouldn’t have connected with the characters as much and lasting impact even after the film was over would have not been as sharp.
The above must have made it apparent that Archi, the heroine of the film, is no pushover. Daughter of the Patil(landlord) of the village, a bold and commanding attitude comes naturally to her. And Rinku Rajguru as Archi is a casting masterstroke. Nagraj Manjule has the knack of extracting solid performances from non-actors as was apparent from Fandry and he does this with Sairat as well. Archi is a fairly complex role and she effortlessly brings about all the varied emotions – right from arrogance to despair – that her character goes through.
Aakash on the other hand doesn’t match up to Rinku but is quite adequate for his role which is less complex than that of Archi.
Another notable aspect about Sairat is that despite the mainstream aesthetic the film is not devoid of metaphors. We are repeatedly shown Parshya ‘taking the plunge’ into a well or the lake. In the latter half of the film there is a close up on the feet of Archi as she is climbing down the steps to a public toilet. It succinctly depicts how Archi born and brought up in a bungalow named after her has descended from her upper-class upbringing.
The song ‘Jhingat’ has Archi dancing in a balcony and Parshya on the ground with him expressing his love for her in the song. Apart from underlining their social status with her being high up, it also comes across as a tribute to the ‘balcony scene’ from Romeo and Juliet. Sairat is an epic love story told in a highly affecting manner, filled with solid performances, great songs and an assured hand in direction. That Nagraj Manjule is a director who can also make a deeply touching mainstream romantic film is loud and clear!
