samthomus
Joined Jul 2017
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samthomus's rating
Maiti Ghar is a Nepali language film, whose production, development, and technical work took place in India. And, the effect of "socialism", which had marred the Indian cinema in 1950s & 60s, shows pretty obviously. The typical left!st narrative of Oppressor-Oppressed; the attack on family institution, the glorification of "breaking free" from the family, are all too obvious in the film.
If the movie had been made in Nepal completely, with ZERO influence from socialist artists from India, then definitely, the film's plot-line would not have had these overtly "liberal" themes.
The plot is simple - A woman (perpetually oppressed, as per left!st narrative) lives in the faraway Himalayas of the Hindu Rashtra Nepal in 1960s. She leads a happy life with a loving husband, a small school-going kid (son), and her in-laws. Everything is fine, until the husband dies in a tragic road accident.
As is expected, the mother-in-law blames the heroine for her bad 'stars' that caused her son's untimely demise. Of course, this is not rational and would have subsided with time. For, the mother-in-law would have grown old and died. But, no, the heroine does not have patience. She -- very selfishly -- runs away from home, leaving her small kid at home. Typical "oppressed woman" socialist left!st narrative. Instead of showing patience, she chooses to "break free" - the favourite solution of lefti!ts.
Now, our so-called "oppressed" heroine who finds it like hell at her home hearing her mother-in-law's occasional curse-words, finds what the real "hell" is. After running away from home, she takes shelter at a courtesan's den. There, she finds what the real "hell" is. That's why it is said that if you do not make small compromises with family, you then end up making big ones with strangers.
Eventually, the heroine does make some of those big compromises, and in the end, there happens a killing in which she is involved. She is sentenced to a long time in jail and dies there (the story is actually told in flashback by her during her jail time).
The build-up at several points in the film is not convincing; neither is the plot-line. This writer has had a firsthand experience with a woman who was from Nepal and became a widow in 1950s. But, she lived a long and healthy life with her family, as a matriarch of the family, no less, and died at the ripe age of 98. So, the film trying to convince us that "the Himalayan villages hound all the young widows" is not entirely accurate. Even if you go as per religious texts, the Arthashastra in great detail mentions remarriage of young widows, by their in-laws no less.
So, while sporadic cases of oppression of young widows may have happened, it was NOT a norm.
On top of that, a nation as seeped in Hinduism as the former Hindu Rashtra Nepal, would make it unlikely for a married woman to become as selfish as the protagonist of "Maiti Ghar", who does not lose one moment in running away from home, leaving her school-going kid alone at home.
And, because of what?
Because of some verbal harsh treatment from her mother-in-law! Do one's own parents not give verbal harsh treatment? Does one always run away from home? No, right.
The film is a misrepresentation of the larger Hindu society of Nepal, who would be far more tolerant of family elders' harsh treatment, not rushing into knee-jerk decisions like running away from home.
Mala Sinha is more or less convincing in her acting, except that her Nepali pronunciation at a few times is shows Hindi influence, perhaps due to her work in Bollywood cinema (remember that she was a big name in Bombay even in 1950s (e.g. Pyasaa (1957)); and "Maiti Ghar" is from late 60s).
Music is definitely worth humming. An eclectic combination of classical-based Lata Mangeshkar songs, to folk-music based family gathering songs.
Cinematography is excellent. The magnificently eye-soothing Annapoorna from Pokhra hills is a treat to watch, even in Black & White.
Overall, an above average film, but with a caveat that its plot-line has lessons against "rash decisions taken on account of differences within family". The plot-line teaches that if one does not make small adjustments with family members, one ends up making big (rather unpleasant) compromises with strangers.
If the movie had been made in Nepal completely, with ZERO influence from socialist artists from India, then definitely, the film's plot-line would not have had these overtly "liberal" themes.
The plot is simple - A woman (perpetually oppressed, as per left!st narrative) lives in the faraway Himalayas of the Hindu Rashtra Nepal in 1960s. She leads a happy life with a loving husband, a small school-going kid (son), and her in-laws. Everything is fine, until the husband dies in a tragic road accident.
As is expected, the mother-in-law blames the heroine for her bad 'stars' that caused her son's untimely demise. Of course, this is not rational and would have subsided with time. For, the mother-in-law would have grown old and died. But, no, the heroine does not have patience. She -- very selfishly -- runs away from home, leaving her small kid at home. Typical "oppressed woman" socialist left!st narrative. Instead of showing patience, she chooses to "break free" - the favourite solution of lefti!ts.
Now, our so-called "oppressed" heroine who finds it like hell at her home hearing her mother-in-law's occasional curse-words, finds what the real "hell" is. After running away from home, she takes shelter at a courtesan's den. There, she finds what the real "hell" is. That's why it is said that if you do not make small compromises with family, you then end up making big ones with strangers.
Eventually, the heroine does make some of those big compromises, and in the end, there happens a killing in which she is involved. She is sentenced to a long time in jail and dies there (the story is actually told in flashback by her during her jail time).
The build-up at several points in the film is not convincing; neither is the plot-line. This writer has had a firsthand experience with a woman who was from Nepal and became a widow in 1950s. But, she lived a long and healthy life with her family, as a matriarch of the family, no less, and died at the ripe age of 98. So, the film trying to convince us that "the Himalayan villages hound all the young widows" is not entirely accurate. Even if you go as per religious texts, the Arthashastra in great detail mentions remarriage of young widows, by their in-laws no less.
So, while sporadic cases of oppression of young widows may have happened, it was NOT a norm.
On top of that, a nation as seeped in Hinduism as the former Hindu Rashtra Nepal, would make it unlikely for a married woman to become as selfish as the protagonist of "Maiti Ghar", who does not lose one moment in running away from home, leaving her school-going kid alone at home.
And, because of what?
Because of some verbal harsh treatment from her mother-in-law! Do one's own parents not give verbal harsh treatment? Does one always run away from home? No, right.
The film is a misrepresentation of the larger Hindu society of Nepal, who would be far more tolerant of family elders' harsh treatment, not rushing into knee-jerk decisions like running away from home.
Mala Sinha is more or less convincing in her acting, except that her Nepali pronunciation at a few times is shows Hindi influence, perhaps due to her work in Bollywood cinema (remember that she was a big name in Bombay even in 1950s (e.g. Pyasaa (1957)); and "Maiti Ghar" is from late 60s).
Music is definitely worth humming. An eclectic combination of classical-based Lata Mangeshkar songs, to folk-music based family gathering songs.
Cinematography is excellent. The magnificently eye-soothing Annapoorna from Pokhra hills is a treat to watch, even in Black & White.
Overall, an above average film, but with a caveat that its plot-line has lessons against "rash decisions taken on account of differences within family". The plot-line teaches that if one does not make small adjustments with family members, one ends up making big (rather unpleasant) compromises with strangers.
This looks like a remake of Gurudutt's 1957 cult-classic "Pyaasa". While Hamal and Sharma do try their best to reprise the roles of Gurudutt and Waheeda Rehman respectively, the writers of "Jiban Sangharsh" disappoint the hardwork of the lead actors. For example, in Pyaasa, Vijay's dejection with the hypocrisy around him is built up in a far more convincing way, so that when the dejected poet is thought of as dead, the audience easily reconciles the first half of the film with the now opportunist attitude of the publisher (who earlier denied the poet publishing and now want to make a killing out of his works).
In "Jiban Sangharsh", this build-up is not convincing at all. So, when Hamal tries to commit suicide, the audience find it hard to believe that why the protagonist is in a hurry to finish it off.
Though we need to give Hamal and Sharma full markes for trying, since they really try to sell the narrative unsuccessfully and half-heartedly built by the writers. One has to especially give credit to Hamal here, because being a commercially successful actor, this kind of serious cinema is not his natural domain, but he does come off as reasonably convincing. Mithila Sharma is a natural. Whether it is the self-assured and righteous housewife in "Adhikar" or a successful dancer feeling jealous of her younger sister (Pratigya), serious scenes are played by my panache by Sharma.
Special mention to Tika Pahari, who has a broad range of emotions in his acting repertoire. Whether it is the menacing villain or comical publisher or an overprotective brother, he plays all shades well.
Overall, "Jiban Sangharsh" is a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill Nepali films of "Hero-Heroine-Villain" formula of that era. Those Nepali speakers that do understand Hindi-Urdu must watch Pyaasa though (available for free on YouTube) and they would see where Gurudutt takes the role played by Rajesh Hamal.
In "Jiban Sangharsh", this build-up is not convincing at all. So, when Hamal tries to commit suicide, the audience find it hard to believe that why the protagonist is in a hurry to finish it off.
Though we need to give Hamal and Sharma full markes for trying, since they really try to sell the narrative unsuccessfully and half-heartedly built by the writers. One has to especially give credit to Hamal here, because being a commercially successful actor, this kind of serious cinema is not his natural domain, but he does come off as reasonably convincing. Mithila Sharma is a natural. Whether it is the self-assured and righteous housewife in "Adhikar" or a successful dancer feeling jealous of her younger sister (Pratigya), serious scenes are played by my panache by Sharma.
Special mention to Tika Pahari, who has a broad range of emotions in his acting repertoire. Whether it is the menacing villain or comical publisher or an overprotective brother, he plays all shades well.
Overall, "Jiban Sangharsh" is a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill Nepali films of "Hero-Heroine-Villain" formula of that era. Those Nepali speakers that do understand Hindi-Urdu must watch Pyaasa though (available for free on YouTube) and they would see where Gurudutt takes the role played by Rajesh Hamal.