by Raj Kumar Thakur
The very idea that one's self is independent from the larger socio-political realities is very clearly brought under scrutiny—instead what emerges is connected lives, with water, the chief source of life, being at the core of the movie. Armaan Ali, the chief protagonist of the movie, comes out a champion, a champion who goes beyond the very idea of self, his rebellion a marker of restlessness and dissatisfaction on the part of the common man. The idea of the common man—one who is ignorant, one who dwells in his/her shell of day to day chores of livelihood management and one who rarely takes to streets—is questioned. Here the director brings to surface the burden of political structures which is not shared by politicians and bureaucrats; rather it is the common man who suffers in all aspects of his life. Thus his/her self is not divulged from the larger political realities, an intrinsically linked self, a burdened self emerges as the conclusion.
Armaan Ali's journey is the journey of this overburdened self, a man who is at peace with oneself and whose duty is to look for a bridegroom for his daughter; he however is caught in a political riddle whereby he finds that his daughter has to travel miles to fetch drinking water. Till today his responsibility was that of a traditional father, but when he tries to come to terms with rural realities he finds that his first responsibility would be to make a permanent arrangement for drinking water. The journey of politicisation of water and politicisation of his self begins. Here the director focuses on the politicisation of self; the politicisation of self is to be seen as a journey from ignorance to ‘knowledge', passivity to activism.
Armaan Ali's location in the present scenario of politics is very well portrayed by the director. Through Armaan Ali the director takes us to a journey of functioning democracy right from the bottom of the structure. From an ‘ignorant', ‘illiterate' individual Armaan Ali matures to understand the functioning democracy. The Right to Information, which is seen by many as a tool of rural as well as individual empowerment, which is also seen as devolution of power from top to bottom, acquires crucial importance. Armaan Ali emerges as an empowered citizen, a citizen who is not just fighting for his right and claiming it but instead he is also functioning under the religious notion of sawabh (holy or pious deed). Benegal explores the question of the secular nature of religion which teaches one to be pious and exist in harmony with one another. This religious lesson is explored by delving into Armaan Ali's evolution as a political being, his conscious reclamation of rights, his honesty assisting him in his existence in the corrupt world, where he is able to distinguish between the corrupt and the honest, who in turn emerges as the victim of the corrupt system. And as to how honesty emerges as a powerful tool in the fight against the corrupt institution.
The image of Gandhi is invoked when Armaan Ali lodges a moral as well as political battle against the corrupt bureaucratic structure; the struggle is hegemonic in nature, for here the idea is that of exposing the dual nature of the governing structures, the structures which at one instance promise liberation from economic woes and on the other hand try to misplace the funds and thereby fill it's stomach. The idea of resource shared is brought to question. Even the very ideas of development are exposed. The political consciousness of the people residing in villages is gradually brought into focus in the movie. First, Aramaan Ali begins the battle with the help and support of the villagers, they utilise RTI and thereby secure the details regarding Kapil dhara Yojana, a yojana meant for providing water to the rural peasantry by digging wells. An amount is sanctioned for the yojana which is devised for the rural poor who are below the poverty line. Even the process of securing certificate (BPL) is a complicated process where one has to bribe the lower bureaucratic order. Armaan Ali falls into this lucrative arrangement of the state of one being declared poor, where the rural rich rather than the poor extract the economic opportunities. A plan designed for rural empowerment is utilised by many as a plan for enrichment of the powerful and the rich. Corruption is therefore seen intrinsic to the functioning democracy, the roots of the system is therefore to be questioned by exposing the functioning corruption.
While talking of rural empowerment, one will have to delve into the character evolution of Armaan Ali. By exercising the RTI he gathers the information regarding the number of bauris (wells) in the municipal area; after securing the list he comes to the conclusion that no bauri is to be seen, instead all bauris are stolen. He along with other victims of the locality gather and march towards the police station where they ask for lodging multiple FIRs which would mean recognising the failure of the institution. Bauris as ‘stolen' is to be seen as a metaphor for organised and systemic corruption, whereby the government schemes—which are designed for the rural poor—are being stolen by the bureaucratic structures. The organised mass faces lathis by the police. The demonstration emerges into a larger political question when the organised masses march towards the house of the elected MLA, the MLA in turn fears its repercussions in the upcoming elections and thereby asks the police for an enquiry and thus pressurises the police to look for the stolen wells and recover them. The issue gains political ground in the Assembly and the Opposition charges the ruling party with divulging and misusing funds. The ruling party comes under political pressure and within a week of Armaan Ali's protest the bauri is dug once again. The cinema ends with a satire on the functioning structures whereby a ceremonial function is organised to celebrate the Kapil dhara Yojana whereby every corrupt bureaucrat is awarded a certificate for the successful implementation of the yojana. Unfortunately when every official gathers around the stage, the stage comes down. This is symbolic, for it marks the burden of the corrupt institution, which falls apart even on ceremonial celebration. The symbol of organised failure of the corrupt structure is revived.
Armaan Ali's sitting on fast is also of crucial importance, his fast acquires political dimensions for the ruling party; through the non-violent mode of struggle he garners popular support. Now the state is faced with a dilemma: how to respond emerges as the question. Armaan Ali's fast is reported in the media, his struggle is therefore one of morally defeating the ruler and redistributing the returns to the rural poor. The state faces the problem of damned if you do and damned if you don't. In the process of saving one's reputation the state comes up with the resolution of delivering the bauris. Bauris delivered therefore emerges as a symbolic victory, for it saves the state from its moral failure of being a non-functioning democracy. Larger questions gain importance: is democracy always to be seen as a pressure responding institution? The director puts a hopeful picture of organised protest, and productive Opposition, but here the director brings to our notice the questions of one's involvement with the political structures. The structures are not responsive as such. Instead, it's the involvement of the common man and his empowerment which will redefine parliamentary democracy. The Opposition parties are merely to be seen as support garnering agencies who in turn are ready to fool the masses with the rhetoric of change and development. The burden of redefining democracy lies on the common man who will have to rise to the occasion and function for his rights and enlargement of representation in democratic structures. Thus Benegal upholds the vision of a democracy based on rural empowerment.
Now if one goes by the larger questions of the movie, few doubts emerge. First, as to whether one always needs a messiah in the form of Armaan Ali to fight the challenges. Does one always need an enlightened individual to correct the structural failures? Are people to be seen as passive players in the overall functioning of democracy? If passive, then can the demons-tration be seen as a tool of rural empowerment?
These questions are, however, ideological in character, and need to be put on an ideological platform; however, the success of the movie lies in its attempt to bring to surface the awakening of the common man. A man deifying law to redefine laws. No law or scheme is to be seen as absolutely rewarding. The RTI and rural empowerment are to be seen in continuity, a journey towards an ideal democracy.
Patriarchy as a question has also been explored. Balamma, the village panchayat head, is a women who is continuously seen as crumbling within the structural pressure. A structure where the female voice is utterly repressed and silenced. Her dilemma is well portrayed when one finds that Balamma is repeatedly overpowered by her husband in political dealings, her individual existence is brought to question. Does becoming a panchayat head bring about empowerment? Balamma's account is an account of repression in continuity. A patriarchal state is witnessed, which is functioning against the individuality of its citizens. The movie is therefore a political satire on contemporary politics, the politics of representation, the politics of welfare, the politics of rural empowerment—all are brought under scrutiny. Armaan Ali's political empowerment is celebrated as a ray of hope in this confusing order of flux.
The author, a Research Scholar, is pursuing M.Phil in Modern History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.