Sons of soil on screen

Many filmmakers have focussed on the conflict and turmoil of the
agrarian society, writes M. L. Dhawan

OVER the years, filmmakers have tried to capture the turmoil and tribulation of farmers. In their recently released film Kissan, Sohail Khan and director Puneet Sira once again bring the focus on the plight of our farmers. Kissan deals with the issue of farmers being lured to sell their land to industrialists. Jackie Shroff, a farmer, sends his elder son to the city. His younger son remains in the village to help him. In the city, his son falls prey to the wily ways of Sohan Seth (Dilip Tahil), an industrialist, which results in a division in the family.

Similarly, Sohail Tatari’s Summer 2007 laid emphasis on the problems of farmers in rural India. In the film, the month-long training of five doctors in a village turns into a soul-searching journey. They have to make a choice — to leave the mess just as they have found it and get away from there or get involved and bring about the desired changes. In the process, they undergo a metamorphosis and feel there is much more to do than living in isolation. The film undertook the problem of debt-ridden farmers committing suicide.

Set in the pre-Independence period, Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Lagaan (2001) is about farmers in a small village in western India. Faced with a drought, the farmers are unable to pay the lagaan (land levy) imposed on them by the British. They urge the administrator to waive the levy. However, he suggests that the lagaan could be lifted for a year if they are able to win a cricket match against his ace team. Bhuvan (Aamir Khan), a progressive farmer, agrees as he believes with their devotion and dedication, they can change their own destiny. Finally, the villagers are able to defeat the British in their game.

In Swadesh (2004), another film by Ashutosh Gowarikar, Mohan Bhargav (Shah Rukh Khan), who works as a project manager at NASA, comes to India in search of his roots and so begins his journey into the heartland of rural India. He realises that by understanding the societal complexities of the farmers, he can better their lot. When he sits in a boat brooding about what he sees as an empty and dark future for the farmers, one finds a selfish NRI turning into a caring empathetic human being.

Manoj Kumar’s Upkar tackled the issue of farmers leaving agriculture and moving into cities for white-collared jobs. Upkar presented Manoj Kumar as Bharat, the farmer who uses his education to bring about a change in rural India.

Bimal Roy in Do Bigha Zameen (1953) depicted the struggle of farmers against the all-powerful zamindar. In the film, Shambhu Mahato (Balraj Sahni) moved to Calcutta with his son to earn money to retrieve his mortgaged land from the zamindar. In the film, Balraj Sahni refuses to sell his land for a song to the landowner who wanted to construct a factory there. By the time he is able to arrange money it is too late and the watchdog of the zamindar prevents him from carrying even a handful of soil from the land, which once belonged to him.

Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957) was an illustration of courage of a rural woman, who comes as a shy young bride to the village with dreams in her eyes. The birth of their first child brings much happiness but soon the cycle of childbirth takes its toll. Then there is unrelenting labour on the fields to pay off the debt to that bane of the rural existence, the wily moneylender.

When her husband disappears after an accident, Radha tightens her loins to face the onslaught of destiny. Nargis enacted the role of wife of a farmer so wonderfully that one could smell the toil of her hard day. While braving the battle with a lustful Sukhilal, her anger is so visible that it appears she could kill him with a sickle. With her courage, she manages to retain her sanity and virtue in bringing up two strapping sons. When her son Birju turns wild, she shoots him to save another woman’s honour. The film convincingly paints the conflicts of an agrarian society and the role of a woman in the survival of the family.

In Ramesh Saigal’s Shikast (1953), Ram (Dilip Kmar) visits his native village to sell his land to his cousin K. N. Singh. On reaching the village, he found farmers suffering at the hands of the zamindar. This makes him change his mind and he decides against selling his land. In order to ameliorate the lot of poor farmers, he settles in the village and opens a school and a hospital for them. When an epidemic breaks out in the village, Ram leaves no stone unturned to save as many people as possible.

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