Warning !!!
The post is dark and full of spoilers, from the Movie “A Death In The Gunj”.
So,
Spoiler Alert !!!
This is not the kind of post that I usually put here, but anyway. This is the first movie I saw in 2018 and it moved me in some ways; So I thought why not ?
This is not a movie review per se, but some real-world observations in light of the movie. And again, I’d request everyone who hasn’t seen the movie, go see it first, please…
Anyway. The movie tells the story of ‘Shutu’ played by Vikrant Massey; a series of events which lead to his death during a family vacation in McCluskiegunj. We see Shutu being tossed around, abused mentally and physically and as the synopsis says, ‘pays a heavy price (here, the ultimate price) for his gentleness.’
Some of us can relate with Shutu. Being the Shy, Studious Gentleman doesn’t always a great person to be. I mean we all have that friend/family member, whom we like to pull legs of. And there is a thin line between leg-pulling and bullying. A person, who acts out, gets irritated and may shout and throw tantrums. But, a shy and introvert person, absorbs that leg pulling; and we, to make him/her throw a tantrum, or shout; take things up a notch and before we know it, we are past lag pulling, into the bullying zone.
Because let’s admit it; we like to irritate the people who get irritated.
The problem with persons like Shutu is that they are very easily corruptible. As they long for love, affection and secretly affection, they are very easily deceived. And most of the times they don’t value real affection and run for something fake, just like a child who runs for a shiny new toy.
The film was set in 1979. So, after Shutu committed Suicide, there was no media debacle, no messages forwarded in WhatsApp, no #PrayForShutu trended on facebook and twitter. But the story, the incident is timeless, and it begs the question, how safe is Shutu, in 2017? Because believe me, there are numerous “Shutu”s around.
I think we have a moral duty to save them. I know, the strong always prey on the weak. So says the Sanskrit Chant “Veerbhogya Vasundhara” (Only the Brave Cherishes the Earth). But, what it doesn’t say aloud is that It is also the job of the Strong, the Brave to protect the weak and innocent. Which I was reminded again when I finished watching the movie.
There is nothing much to say about the movie itself, except it is a well crafted one. Debutant director and well-known actress Konkona Sen Sharma has shown that she is indeed on the strong side of her gene-pool. The atmosphere was so well built, it sometimes reminded me of “Aranyer Dinratri”.
Last week, I posted my New Year resolutions, and I thought today I take an oath to protect the weak and innocents.
And, also, I’d request everyone to watch the movie (if you haven’t seen already), so you can understand my perspective. The Link is given below.
Peace,
Neel
Libberish 