The huge success of the 1996 Tamil blockbuster film ‘Andhadhun’ Indian‘Dangal’, starring Kamal Haasan and directed by Shankar, could be said to have become popular for a number of reasons such as Kamal Haasan’s brilliant portrayal of a 70-year-old freedom fighter, AR Rahman’s excellent songs and Shankar’s imaginative story, but the main reason was its instant appeal to the ‘aam aadmi’, who is forced to pay money to government officials on a daily basis.
Its effect gentle, Indian And after this many films of director Shankar like Mudhalvan And Anniyan spoke to several generations of Tamil people, shaping their understanding of politics and corruption in society, often prioritising problematic vigilantes over systematic, long-lasting, incremental reform of the system. Like every film, Indian was written and made in a specific socio-political context in India. Five years before the film’s release, in 1991, the Indian government had decided to break the lock on the economy by implementing a series of structural reforms that loosened the state’s grip on the economy by adopting liberalisation to spur economic growth and provide employment.
In 1990, the government of then Prime Minister V.P. Singh agreed to grant 27 per cent reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), resulting in widespread protests against its implementation, sparking debate over whether it would affect the efficiency and quality of personnel in the bureaucracy. Of course, India also saw the controversial Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which aimed to build a temple for Lord Rama at the site of the Babri Masjid. It was a Hindutva project, then still in its infancy, that was realised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year.
A scene from ‘Indian’ (1996)
These events had a profound impact on the psyche of all Indians, including the fictional ‘Indian’ general who went from being a freedom fighter to a killer of corrupt government officials. First, he would have started distrusting the state’s control over the Indian economy and other government institutions and viewed them as bastions of corruption. Second, he developed a subconscious bias against reservations, which provided a way for SCs and STs as well as OBCs to gain representation in education and jobs (backed up by personal experience of his daughter’s death in the film). And, not to mention, he kills his own son Chandru, a brake inspector in the government, for taking bribes, resulting in the death of many children.
If we use these ideological and socio-political frameworks, then director Shankar’s previous film gentleIt tells the story of a non-Brahmin Kicha (son of a cook working in a government school) who, in order to make the dreams of students like Ramesh, his poor Brahmin friend who is unable to get admission in a medical college due to caste and poverty, come true, decides to rob the rich and powerful to build a college that admits everyone. 30 years later, it is clear that gentlemen’s This notion becomes outdated when we see how poorly represented the OBCs and SC/STs are across every sector in India, so much so that it has become a slogan for the opposition Indian bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Desire for vigilante justice
Here is an interview of Kamal Haasan from the 1990s, in which he talks about his ideological issues. gentle And Indian This is still true. gentleHe says he was not very keen to do the film as the original idea was about a Brahmin boy going into militancy, and IndianHe admits that though a man who kills corrupt people and instills fear in them is every ‘aam’ aadmi’s dream, the narrative promotes ‘fascism’ by pitting a ‘freedom fighter and an uncompromising’ old man who kills corrupt officials as the solution.
A scene from ‘Indian 2’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Indians The structure is quite interesting: to prove why Senapathi is killing the small men in the state government machinery – a doctor, a treasury officer, an inspector, a VAO and a brake inspector (his own son) – there are two different flashbacks and several subplots, one to show his patriotic and heroic past that justifies his killing spree, and the other, to explain why he chooses these people to ‘sort out’. And this is where actor Kamal Haasan’s opinion that the film is based on a fascist desire to seek a savior to clean up the corrupt ‘system’, a political idea that remains popular across the world, rather than attending to a long-lasting reform of the system, proves true.
Also Read | Why director Shankar’s legacy goes beyond mere grandeur?
Indian The film villainises government officials appointed through reservation and calls the death penalty the only solution for these corrupt officials, while calling the idea of ’bringing them to court’ a complete waste of time. In fact, the general is willing to sacrifice his daughter, as he refuses to bribe the officials in exchange for completing the legal formalities to begin treatment of his daughter’s burn wounds, but later kills all those who asked him for the bribe, he is not even willing to explore the option of using the law as a solution.
Over the past 33 years since the liberalisation of the Indian economy, big business has regularly colluded with the state machinery, resulting in the creation of a few large and lucrative billionaires whose debts are routinely waived off. Not to be left behind, there are politicians and political parties who can take on the big billionaires in India.
The promise of a new narrative?
Trailer indian 2 This gives some insight into what the film will be about: the desire to look for a savior is still present and popular in India, given the decline in Indians’ living standards and development, while ill-gotten wealth is used by politicians to bribe voters in elections and billionaires continue to take over India’s resources. Indian 2 The trailer begins with a voiceover saying that the condition of the country has gotten worse, and rightly so: “What kind of a country is this? No job here suits our qualifications… No job pays the salary that the job deserves… We don’t get facilities despite paying taxes, thieves continue to steal, people who violate the law continue to do so (without any consequences)” to which the character played by actor Siddharth says, “We don’t do enough to change the system.” However, he quickly declares that ‘we need a hunting dog,’ which foreshadows the arrival of the Indian And Today once again the aim is to end corruption in India.
Given the discourse that has prevailed in India over the last 30 years, one might perhaps have expected that the issue of corruption in India would be presented in a more nuanced and holistic way, rather than blaming a few low-level ‘corrupt government officials’ and arguing that murder is the only permanent solution to the problem.
There is a line in the trailer by Kamal Haasan: “You take the Gandhian path, I will take the Netaji path,” which promises that the film, while maintaining its impatience with corruption in society, acknowledges the problem at its core and does not want to simplify the issues to the local village administrative officer as the root cause of corruption. Of course, Indians still face many social evils today: the continued hatred against minorities, and atrocities against Dalits and other disadvantaged groups, continue unabated. Hopefully Indians will be able to fight this disease. And He has thought deeply about these issues over the last 30 years and has some suggestions as to solutions.
Indian 2 releases in cinemas this Friday