A drop of life

Abhishek Pathak’s National Award-winning film Boond brings forth the struggle for
water and the power it wields, writes Rajendra Rajan

Abhishek Pathak’s Boond, a crisp and captivating melodrama weaved in 25 minutes, left the audience spellbound at the Indian Panorama Festival 2010, which was held in Shimla recently. The festival, under the aegis of the Directorate of Film Festivals and State Information & Public Relations Department, was held in Himachal Pradesh for the first time.

The theme and content of Boond, a National Award-winning film in the non-feature films category, focusses on the immense power of water. The film also brings forth the intense struggle and desperate craving of a village woman to exercise control over the precious source of water. Benjamin Franklin had said, "When the well is dry, we know the worth of the water." Abhishek Pathak has successfully depicted the battle for the ‘elixir’ of life in the film, which is set in a remote and parched village in India, probably in the Kutch area of Gujarat. Jeevani, a widow, dares the Thakur, who had killed her husband to take possession of the lone well in the village. However, she refuses to surrender her control of the well in the village, which is covered with a fence and locked and is centrepoint of the whole story. Thakur tries to regain control of the well by harassing Jeevani but she refuses to relent and continues to maintain her volt face and dominance over Thakur and the village by selling water to the villagers through a barter system.

Finally, under a conspiracy, Jeevani sells the well to Thakur and leaves the village. This is followed by a tragic turn of events for Thakur and his family. Meanwhile, Jeevani, along with her nine-year-old son Manka, wanders in the drought-hit fields for water. Life comes full circle for Jeevani as she tries to approach a source of water after a great ordeal. She faces a bullet just as her son had once fired a bullet on a villager, who had tried to break open the lock of the well that was in her possession.

Boond also brings forth the deep-rooted malaise in the traditional Indian society besieged with the desperate desire of wielding power through the control of local resources. The film is also an eyeopener to those who are averse and apathetic to value of water.

The story of the film begins with the mundane routine of the village taking a decisive turn when nine-year-old Manka shoots Lallan, Thakur’s brother-in-law, with a rifle. The only well in the village is in Jeevani’s custody. A panchayat soon follows after the incident but Manka, being a minor, cannot be brought to justice.

The setting of the film serves as a fitting metaphor to the current reality of this world. The reality is that power rests with those who control the resources, and that the power becomes the basis of how they interact with the world. The story revolves around four characters: Jeevani, a widow, her son Manka, Thakur, chief of the village, and the well. The well is encircled by a fence made from kikkar branches on all sides with a door and a big lock on it. The well becomes an epitome of the power wielded by Jeevani.

When Thakur kills Dharma in front of his wife Jeevani and the villagers, Jeevani decides to avenge his death from Thakur and the spineless villagers, who had silently watched his killing. As a barter system comes in place, power shifts hands from the Thakur to Jeevani. Now the water is sold in exchange for whatever Jeevani and Manka want. The entire village is at the mercy of the mother and the son for each drop of water.

In Jeevani and Manka, we see the reflection of humanity, which survives on the hope that someday they will be powerful enough to avenge the injustice done to it. But in doing so, they themselves become the oppressors. It is a powerful rendition of our own fantasy of possessing power and being the harbinger of divine justice. The story is a moving description of our helplessness in the face of awareness of the illusion of power.

The inspiration to make Boond came to Abhishek Pathak while watching a real-life story on television. The programme showed how a schoolteacher in a remote village of Bihar was teaching his students to hold a rifle. When asked by the reporter, the teacher said there had been a prolonged fight between him and his brother over the possession of a hand-pump. The animosity had led to the killing of the family members of both the brothers. Abhishek Pathak has successfully weaved a narrative on the most burning issue of water. The film is also a call to conserve natural resources, particularly water.

HOME