Question: How can you script a movie centered around an issue as sensitive as farmer suicide and as controversial as fake journalism or dirty politics and yet get away with it ?
Answer: Peepli-Live.
The movie is an intelligent take around the issue of farmer suicide. Mind you, I intentionally chose the word intelligent over honest, satire or even realistic. Fact is that this movie succeeds in accomplishing all this through humor.
The plot revolves around a household of two siblings Natha & Budhia. The younger sibling decides to decides to commit suicide so that the family can get a compensation of one lakh rupees. As soon as this news spreads out, the media quite literally puts up a mela outside his house and the politicians play around the circumstance to make it the biggest issue for the upcoming by-elections.
The bulk of the plot is about media frenzy and dirty politics; but unravels as humor - and good one at that. Watch out for some really witty one-liners from the bed-ridden mother of the siblings. As for the cast, Omkar Das and Raghuvir Yadav as perfectly cast as the troubled siblings. They underplay their roles to great effect - something quintessential.
The narration gets serious only in the last 10-15mins. And when the climax unfolds, it sort of underscores the satire in the rest of the movie that was passed off as humor. With a running time of under 2 hours, all the gyan in the movie falls soft on the viewer without getting preachy.
In the end, it is likely that the viewer would feel contended with the way the issue is treated by the movie.
My Rating: Thought provoking movie - 3/5
Read my other movie reviews
ab dekhna hi padega .....
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