A particularly well shot, lyrically written scene shows a
power hungry Mandola (Pankaj Kapur) describing his dream to the flirtatious,
sly politician, Shabana Azmi. They look down at a beautiful stretch of rich,
harvested land which turns into a concrete mass of skyscrapers and malls as
Mandola talks with animated fervour. Suddenly it starts raining heavily. Shabana laughs in wicked
glee , commenting on the farmers’ approaching plight. Mandola looks down at the
water soaked fields and freezes. He has just seen a pink buffalo.
The scene along with the title suggests everything about
Matru Ki Bijli ka Mandola. It is symbolic ,crazy and baffling with imagination
let loose and wild. Plus there are moo sounds of two kinds: one of the buffalo
variety, the other of Mao type. To get the moo bit, one needs to first adapt to
Vishal Bhardwaj brand of absurd theatre humour
and style.
After Maqbool, Omkara, Kaminey and Saat Khoon Maaf, certain
elements are now expected from a Vishal Bhardwaj film. Plenty of crazy but
entertaining theatrics, Shakespearan tone if not an adaptation, eccentric
characters, rustic backdrop,fabulous music and choreography which is so
celebratory that one does not care about figuring it out. Its enough to simply
sit back in amusement and indulge some imagination.
The story revolves around the usual landlord and farmer conflict.A village in Haryana, is named after rich landlord, Mandola
(Pankuj Kapur).Mandola by day, is a capitalist who fleeces every farmer of
their birthright , with dreams of turning the rich , harvested land into a
‘progressive ‘industrial belt. By night, he is an alcoholic communist who gulps down 42 plus pegs, drives over liquor
shops with his limousine along with his driver accomplice, Matru (Imran
Khan).He is capable of taking off in planes in drunken stupor. When the plane
catches fire, he uses it to light his cigar before jumping off with a
parachute. At night he is also his own enemy, the farmers’ spokesperson rebelling
against Mandola,the calculating landlord.
Mandola has an equally crazy daughter who dives into lakes
in skimpy tshirts and shorts to entertain the villagers. She is engaged to the
chief minsiter’s son(Arya Babbar) as
part of Mandola’s land deal with the politician. She revels in what Matru, her
childhood friend, refers to as her ‘Meena kumari complex”.Matru is the only
village savior around.
Written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj (Screenplay co writer,Abhishek Chaubey ),the film, intelligent
in parts, revolves around Mandola’s alcoholic antics and his fear, symbolized
by the pink buffalo. However, Mandola’s crazy characterization takes over the
story completely, diverting often from its Maoist content as well as Matru and
Bijli who happily prance around in gay abandon. So much so that it becomes a
pleasure to simply watch the fun all three actors are clearly having in the
craze contest. Bhardwaj’s dialogues, as usual,with elements of dry
wit,political references and rustic abuse, help in sustaining interest in the
otherwise meandering plot.
Pankaj Kapur as Mandola, is magnificent except when he mumbles
indecipherable Haryanvi which is most of the time. Imran Khan, despite, slipping
well into a havy beard, mooch and turban, is
out shadowed often by the fantastic talent around him.
Anushka Sharma as
Bijli, shines, shimmers and thunders her way through every song and scene, however
ridiculous it is. Shabana Azmi as the scheming politician is wicked to the core; her sharp,cold eyes are
enough to freeze animals wilder than buffaloes. Gulabo, the pink buffalo,
rules.
Gulzar’s lyrics match
Bhardwaj’s foot tapping music with lines like ..”nazar mein tu hi tu hai, tu
meri Timbuktu hai…Oye boy charlie”.
Watch this film for its half amusing and imaginative Leftist
take. Also, to catch Pankuj Kapur sitting astride a pink buffalo whose presence
continues to baffle.
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