Movie Review: ‘Man Dhuan Dhuan’
When the Silent One Speaks
Shattering Patriarchy
‘Man Dhuan Dhuan’, which loosely translates into the ‘inconsistent mind/heart’ , written by Malti Joshi is part of ‘Kirdaar,’ an Indian television series aired on Doordarshan ( an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting-Wikipedia) and directed by Gulzar. It ran between 1993 and 1994, and was based on short stories written by different writers in different languages, mainly Urdu, Hindi and Bengali.
Reema Lagoo, Neena Gupta, Om Puri and Raj Zutshi are the main actors in this 23.22 minute dramatic adaptation of the story. An ordinary story of an ordinary middle class household, steeped in, based on, founded in, a centuries-old patriarchal mind set. Deep beneath the surface, hardly visible, or audible, is a potent brew of unhappiness and everyday humiliation. The quiet wife, the blustering husband, the pretty aunt who has come down for a visit, the younger daughter of the house, and the husband’s brother: stock characters of every house. Auntie has been summoned to her brother’s house because something unspeakably scandalous and embarrassing has happened. The promising young scion of the house has fallen in love with someone ‘un savoury’, and he must be brought Back on Track.
Things follow a predictable course, and then, the unthinkable happens. The silent one, speaks. It hits you in the gut, like the words of the mother, played by Lillette Dubey, in Mahesh Dattani’s ‘Thirty Days in September,’ that I watched in Prithvi Theatre. The latter compares herself to a tongue-cut sparrow, the former, to a sacrificial lamb on the altar of duty and respectability.
Subtly but inexorably, the narrative shifts focus to show the hollowness of value systems that promote the expendable nature of the female of the species. It is also a warning. The fires that burn within women have not been extinguished, they have only been banked.
A powerful story, narrated well, with the understated, but elegant direction of Gulzar and thespians who have done justice to their role. A short, intensely moving cameo of talents coming together. for the delectation of viewers.
Watch it for the art and the craft, for the strength and the courage, and the superb acting and direction.
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