Deool Review: Ubiquitous tainted mentality
Amidst the pandemic of COVID-19, the Indian state of Maharashtra is right now celebrating its favorite religious festival, Ganesha Chaturthi. With raging religious intolerance around the corner at regular intervals, it recalls an impression on the famous quote of Deutsch Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
There are different ways of looking at an event, but what if it is a divine event? How does society react towards a divine event? Director Umesh Kulkarni’s Deool (Temple) is an important film traversing through the ‘divine’ reign of faith and superstition. Deool revolves around the effect of commercialization and globalization under the dearth of a political backdrop when Keshya (Girish Kulkarni) allegedly experiences a manifestation of a God figure. Under a tree, Keshya has a vision of God Datta but unable to decipher whether he’s been lucky, hallucinating, or plain stupid — he proclaims God has graced. Set in a fictional village named Mangrul surrounded by a barren stretch of land, the manifestation creates havoc and a temple is built. Every village has a right to progress; commercial, if not scientific or religious.
Written by Girish Kulkarni, the Marathi film released in 2011 went on to fetch him three National Awards including Best Dialogue and Best Actor. Featuring a lot of characters, Writer Girish Kulkarni individualizes each of its characters while endowing them with a language and space of their own. There’s an innate authenticity in the depiction of village life, especially the mentality of the characters whether it’s an illiterate Keshya, a Scientist, or a beef Politician. For instance, a conflict woven with two interesting characters — Anna, a scientist doesn’t approve of the politics of development in the name of God while Bhau Galande, a politician trapped in a shallow pit of superstition stands with his head held high. The peculiar and observant characterization along with local dialect tickles and it speaks for a part of the world which is cynical yet realistic. Deool has a distinct feature of handling a sensitive subject-matter in a witty and satirical manner while juxtaposing the politics of commercialization.
Deool talks about faith and superstition. The film speaks of a mindset stemming from theism itself, while there’s no visible discussion in terms of theism and atheism but underneath it beholds a strong comment. Bhau Galande’s character has a grey side, selfish politics as well as the desire to develop the village. But, even in that desire, the politics of his own development comes to the fore; he doesn’t even have an opinion of his own. He’s just greedy for power. In a similar manner, Deool comments on the ubiquitous tainted mentality. A solid ensemble of actors ranging from Dilip Prabhavalkar, Nana Patekar, Girish Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Usha Nadkarni, Atisha Naik, Jyoti Subhash, Mohan Agashe, and Naseeruddin Shah deliver dynamic performances assimilating into the headspace of the characters.
Importantly, Deool solely works on an ingenious script despite its slow pace. Editor Abhijit Deshpande balances the pace with infertility vs. commercialization. Towards the end, as the story progresses towards attainment, the pace becomes more distilled. Cinematographer Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti who later went on to shoot Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat (2016) and Shashanka Ghosh’s Veere Di Wedding (2018) captures the visibility of the director’s vision of the havoc. Mangesh Dhadke’s songs “Deva Tula Shodhu Kuthe” (Oh Lord, Where Do I Find You) and “Phoda Datta Naam Taho” (In The Name of Datta) penned by Swanand Kirkiree sneak inside the skeleton of the story. Costume Designer Neha Nupura lends a stark piercing color scheme for the elitist and non-elitist characters denoting attitudes and gestures.
In Mangrul, the growth and prosperity post-manifestation is at peak so who cares regarding an introspection? Deool culminates with a speculation of a second-inning while juxtaposing the former beliefs in a blend of the environment instigating the route back to our roots. Every re-watch unravels peculiar nuances and I always end Deool with two words, MY LORD.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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