They say that one should not bite the hand that feeds. Very True. But what happens if the hand that feeds, itself becomes the hand that kills?
Parallelly released in Marathi language under the title Lalbaug Parel, it is directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. If you have seen Vaastav and Astitva, need I say anything more? But I feel I do need to say more... For this is a unique movie, about the city I was born and brought up in. The city I love, like so many others. And hate, like so many others too. And I feel it needs to be told...
Truly speaking, this is the story of a standard lower middle class mill-worker's family, one of the many millions of similar families that formed the cogs in the machinery of this City till the 80's... Till the mills were shut down, to make way for Shopping Malls and sky-scrapers. A family of six living in a 10 x 10 feet room in one of the many chawls that formed the landscape of Mumbai during that time.
The father, who used to work in one of the textile mills, has taken retirement. He is waiting for the gratuity amount promised him post-retirement - but the mills are yet to settle the dues of all the retired workers. One son is a struggling writer whose plays don't ever get sold. Another one, Mohan, works in a bank. The third son roams around being a "bhai" - a local goon. And the only daughter works in a beauty parlour. Somehow they are all trying to make ends meet.
The Mills are shutting down one department after another, claiming loss in business. The workers go on strike. While this drama unfolds, the family faces one problem after another. And they are not the only ones. The mill workers have not been paid for months. How are they to feed their families, pay the school fees, the rents?
And in the backdrop of their tribulations, unfolds the untold story of Mumbai, currently one of the costliest cities in India, maybe in the world too. How this City of the working class turned into a City of Gold. I think each city is like a person. It has a unique personality, a unique past, present and future. If I have to describe the personality of the city of Mumbai, I would describe it as that of a worker. For it is the city of the working class. A city born out of economic necessity, build and developed out of economic progress. Everything in Mumbai is economy driven.
One of the major trades in Mumbai post-independence, was the Textile Mills. Millions of mill workers worked in these mills, which worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in three daily shifts. All these workers mostly stayed in chawls near the mills itself, in the area around Parel, which came to be known in the local slang as the "Giran Gaon" - the village/town of the mills. Hence the name of the Marathi version Lalbaug, Parel. At the end of every shift, the iconic Siren would go off, indicating the end of one shift, and beaconing the workers who would toil and shed their sweat and blood in the next one. They would work one or two shifts a day and make ends meet.
But all this changed when the mill owners began to shut down parts of the mill, claiming losses. The mills might not be profitable, but the abundant land on which they stood, could gain the owners a lot of money. This was what they secretly desired. The untapped development potential of the land on which the mills stood. The land, so the movie claims was not owned by the owners themselves, but was given to them on lease for 99 years by the Government. And so, they began to make things difficult for the workers. The movie depicts this very nicely.
It depicts the hunger and desperation of the common mill worker and his family. Some commit suicide. The kids of some turn to crime and violence, driven by the most basic need to feed the fire within their hungry stomachs. It is sad and horrible indeed.
The movie also depicts the machinations that go on behind the closed doors of the mill owners' offices. The corruption and the under-handed deals would make anyone's blood boil.
All the major characters are quite well-sketched. All the actors, most of them from Marathi film industry, have played their part extremely well.
The directorial talent of Mahesh Manjrekar is evident in the brilliant portrayal of the harsh life of the mill workers, before "they became extinct, like dinosaurs" (to borrow a dialog from the movie itself). The story does not flinch to depict illicit love affairs or violence, in the same way it unflinchingly depicts the desperation and the sad state of the mill-workers' families after the mills shut down. The life in the chawl is portrayed very realistically - life in small 10x10 rooms, where there is no space for personal privacy, but lots of space for humanity, and neighbourly love and care.
As far as I know, the Marathi version - Lalbaug Parel - became more famous than the original Hindi one. One of the reasons probably was that the Marathi speaking localites could identify with its content. And second reason being that, the Hindi audience, who were looking out for mere entertainment, probably found nothing new in this movie. For Mahesh Manjrekar has already explored similar concepts (like common man turning into a criminal) in his previous movies like Vaastav. If that is the case, then I think they missed the point entirely...
Because this is an important movie for anyone who wishes to understand the events that triggered the transformation of this city of mills and chawls, into a city of skyscrapers, huge corporate offices and shopping malls. A city where people who own a piece of it's land, need not really work for a living. And ironically, a city where a hard working common man can no longer afford to buy a home of his own. A City of Gold...
Parallelly released in Marathi language under the title Lalbaug Parel, it is directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. If you have seen Vaastav and Astitva, need I say anything more? But I feel I do need to say more... For this is a unique movie, about the city I was born and brought up in. The city I love, like so many others. And hate, like so many others too. And I feel it needs to be told...
Truly speaking, this is the story of a standard lower middle class mill-worker's family, one of the many millions of similar families that formed the cogs in the machinery of this City till the 80's... Till the mills were shut down, to make way for Shopping Malls and sky-scrapers. A family of six living in a 10 x 10 feet room in one of the many chawls that formed the landscape of Mumbai during that time.
The father, who used to work in one of the textile mills, has taken retirement. He is waiting for the gratuity amount promised him post-retirement - but the mills are yet to settle the dues of all the retired workers. One son is a struggling writer whose plays don't ever get sold. Another one, Mohan, works in a bank. The third son roams around being a "bhai" - a local goon. And the only daughter works in a beauty parlour. Somehow they are all trying to make ends meet.
The Mills are shutting down one department after another, claiming loss in business. The workers go on strike. While this drama unfolds, the family faces one problem after another. And they are not the only ones. The mill workers have not been paid for months. How are they to feed their families, pay the school fees, the rents?
And in the backdrop of their tribulations, unfolds the untold story of Mumbai, currently one of the costliest cities in India, maybe in the world too. How this City of the working class turned into a City of Gold. I think each city is like a person. It has a unique personality, a unique past, present and future. If I have to describe the personality of the city of Mumbai, I would describe it as that of a worker. For it is the city of the working class. A city born out of economic necessity, build and developed out of economic progress. Everything in Mumbai is economy driven.
One of the major trades in Mumbai post-independence, was the Textile Mills. Millions of mill workers worked in these mills, which worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in three daily shifts. All these workers mostly stayed in chawls near the mills itself, in the area around Parel, which came to be known in the local slang as the "Giran Gaon" - the village/town of the mills. Hence the name of the Marathi version Lalbaug, Parel. At the end of every shift, the iconic Siren would go off, indicating the end of one shift, and beaconing the workers who would toil and shed their sweat and blood in the next one. They would work one or two shifts a day and make ends meet.
But all this changed when the mill owners began to shut down parts of the mill, claiming losses. The mills might not be profitable, but the abundant land on which they stood, could gain the owners a lot of money. This was what they secretly desired. The untapped development potential of the land on which the mills stood. The land, so the movie claims was not owned by the owners themselves, but was given to them on lease for 99 years by the Government. And so, they began to make things difficult for the workers. The movie depicts this very nicely.
It depicts the hunger and desperation of the common mill worker and his family. Some commit suicide. The kids of some turn to crime and violence, driven by the most basic need to feed the fire within their hungry stomachs. It is sad and horrible indeed.
The movie also depicts the machinations that go on behind the closed doors of the mill owners' offices. The corruption and the under-handed deals would make anyone's blood boil.
All the major characters are quite well-sketched. All the actors, most of them from Marathi film industry, have played their part extremely well.
The directorial talent of Mahesh Manjrekar is evident in the brilliant portrayal of the harsh life of the mill workers, before "they became extinct, like dinosaurs" (to borrow a dialog from the movie itself). The story does not flinch to depict illicit love affairs or violence, in the same way it unflinchingly depicts the desperation and the sad state of the mill-workers' families after the mills shut down. The life in the chawl is portrayed very realistically - life in small 10x10 rooms, where there is no space for personal privacy, but lots of space for humanity, and neighbourly love and care.
As far as I know, the Marathi version - Lalbaug Parel - became more famous than the original Hindi one. One of the reasons probably was that the Marathi speaking localites could identify with its content. And second reason being that, the Hindi audience, who were looking out for mere entertainment, probably found nothing new in this movie. For Mahesh Manjrekar has already explored similar concepts (like common man turning into a criminal) in his previous movies like Vaastav. If that is the case, then I think they missed the point entirely...
Because this is an important movie for anyone who wishes to understand the events that triggered the transformation of this city of mills and chawls, into a city of skyscrapers, huge corporate offices and shopping malls. A city where people who own a piece of it's land, need not really work for a living. And ironically, a city where a hard working common man can no longer afford to buy a home of his own. A City of Gold...
My Rating: 3.5
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