Pinjar means Skeleton. It also means a Cage. The movie Pinjar talks about the dead skeleton of partition that we still carry with us it also talks about how even after this independence all of us are encaged in some Pinjar or another. The movie also talks about the all time relevance of all the themes it has targeted.
For a movie like Pinjar, it is the message that works. The message that needs to be spread throughout the country, throughout the world. This message is evident in the tagline of the movie. The movie goes “BEYOND BOUNDARIES” it has all time relevance throughout the world. Be it America, India, or Yugoslavia, it is a movie for the masses, movie made for one and all, movie that stands as a mirror in front of the society and shows the dead carcasses that it is carrying. It is a must watch movie for the over all development of the world.
Since it is a movie for the masses, therefore the choice of characters made by Mr. Cander Prakash Diwedi is also very apt. The characters that have been chosen are not those who remind us of stardom, rather they are characters which resemble a common man. Characters like Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bapai, Sanjay Suri, Sandali Sahni, Priyanshu and Esha Kopikar all of them fit in their respective roles in a beautiful manner.
Even the lights, sets, costumes, dialogues and songs take us back to the times of 1947.
Now one by one first we shall talk about the various themes that the movie explores and discuss how there is hardly any difference with what was the situation 61 years ago, because this is a story that had started since then and will become an unending saga if not controlled.
RICH CULTURAL UNITY:
Today’s generation can see that unity only in movies. It has become only a part of our imagination. But Pinjar has created for us those fine scenes of happiness, celebration, festivity and common struggle for a common cause. It showcases how life can be more peaceful and worthwhile had we lived together in peace. The beautiful scenes of festivity fall short of words when it comes to explaining.
But this glory was fading away with the days of independence coming near. Pinjar apart from exploring the rich cultural unity also talks about the trauma of partition.
PARTITION:
It was really unfortunate for India not to see the dawn of Independence together, when the entire nation fought for it for 200 long years together. It was a dream for many to see an Independent Nation but it was nightmare for even more to see two divided nations. When everybody should have united to celebrate for the land they had fought for, at the time of independence, one could see Hindus and Muslims two sons of the same mother unscrupulously killing each other.
It was in 1947 that one could clearly see the seeds of lust of power germinating, when, a handful of politicians, for satisfaction of their greed to hold power, let loose on the entire nation the dance of death.
It was because of this that the headline of newspapers on 15th August 1947 was not INDIA: AN INDEPENDENT STAR SHINES TO GLORY AT THE MID NIGHT OF 14TH AUGUST 1947; rather the National Herald Newspaper slapped the nation with headlines saying:
JINNAH WANTS INDIA PARTITON
• DEMANDS TWO AUTONOMOUS STATES.
• 25 LAKH NON MUSLIMS LEAVE WEST PUNJAB.
Pinjar- The Movie re-lives for us the same trauma of partition. It even shows the bizarre scenes of rape, massacre and plunder that were witnessed during the partition. It teaches that the entire melodrama that ensued revealed the weakness and shortsightedness of man who failed to understand the difference between political games and national unity.
HIT AT THE WOMEN:
At the time of independence man respected neither the motherland nor did the daughters of this motherland. Women were worst hit at the time of partition. They were raped, exploited and degraded.
In the movie we see that Puro (Urmila) and Lajo (Sandalli) and many more such women were carried away from their houses and were mentally, physically and sexually exploited. The animosity between the two religions was taken by exploiting the women of each religion. There were cases in which one women was raped by more than 10 men each day.
Such inhuman deeds still are a part of our society. Hardly a day goes when newspapers do not carry news of rapes and molestation the rate has only increased.
Therefore, all this make Pinjar a movie that had started 57 years earlier and still continues to run, and will continue further if nothing is done to control this savage human instinct.
PENDING GENERATIONAL SCORES:
Pinjar the movie also talks about the scores that existed between two communities three generations earlier. When Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) abducts Puro (Urmilla) he tells her that:
“Tere dada ke ladke ne mere dadi ki ladki ko teen din zabardasti apne ghar mei Rakha”
And this is the reason why Rashid picks up Puro (who was soon going to get married) and keeps her at his place for 15 days, and consequently for her entire life, because after that she is a burden for her family. They refuse to accept her. Puro’s (Urmila’s) mother and father ask her to leave if she wants her rest of the family to survive. Poor girl has no other option but to live with Rashid (Manoj Bajpai).
And if one goes deep into the society one will find out that such thing is very much a part of our society. Therefore Pinjar becomes a movie that is the mouthpiece of society.
IDENTITY CRISIS OF A GIRL:
The change of name of Urmila in the movie from Puro to Hameeda is not a simple change. It is much more than that. It is a change of religion, a change of faith, a change of personal identity. And no matter how much she tried to rub-off that name from her wrist it is very much a part of her. Her personal self contradicts the self that has been imposed on her, but she is forced to live in that very imposition.
This scene in the movie is highly significant. It shows that a woman undergoes a complete change of personality. Regardless of what she wants she is forced to do what her husband wants her to do. Pinjar portrays all this with acute sensitivity.
GENERATION GAP:
As said earlier the movie raises multiple themes Generation Gap that exists in our society is very much talked about in the movie. One can clearly see the difference in the thinking of Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) and his uncle who instigates him to abduct Puro (Urmila), and also between Priyanshu (Puro’s brother) and his father, for whom Puro is nothing but a dead memory.
This also brings us to a very important point in the movie i.e. every human being was encaged in the hypocritical norms of the society. Each wanted to act differently but was acting all together different due to societal pressure. Puro’s father wants to take her daughter back but he knows the society around will discard him if he keeps her anymore with him. Her brother wants to fight for her, get her back but is also encaged by the society. Similarly, Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) does not want to abduct her but still does because his community wants him to do so.
All the themes that I have talked about are very much a part of our society. And Pinjar has the potential to shake the common man into realization of what is happening around him.
For a movie like Pinjar, it is the message that works. The message that needs to be spread throughout the country, throughout the world. This message is evident in the tagline of the movie. The movie goes “BEYOND BOUNDARIES” it has all time relevance throughout the world. Be it America, India, or Yugoslavia, it is a movie for the masses, movie made for one and all, movie that stands as a mirror in front of the society and shows the dead carcasses that it is carrying. It is a must watch movie for the over all development of the world.
Since it is a movie for the masses, therefore the choice of characters made by Mr. Cander Prakash Diwedi is also very apt. The characters that have been chosen are not those who remind us of stardom, rather they are characters which resemble a common man. Characters like Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bapai, Sanjay Suri, Sandali Sahni, Priyanshu and Esha Kopikar all of them fit in their respective roles in a beautiful manner.
Even the lights, sets, costumes, dialogues and songs take us back to the times of 1947.
Now one by one first we shall talk about the various themes that the movie explores and discuss how there is hardly any difference with what was the situation 61 years ago, because this is a story that had started since then and will become an unending saga if not controlled.
RICH CULTURAL UNITY:
Today’s generation can see that unity only in movies. It has become only a part of our imagination. But Pinjar has created for us those fine scenes of happiness, celebration, festivity and common struggle for a common cause. It showcases how life can be more peaceful and worthwhile had we lived together in peace. The beautiful scenes of festivity fall short of words when it comes to explaining.
But this glory was fading away with the days of independence coming near. Pinjar apart from exploring the rich cultural unity also talks about the trauma of partition.
PARTITION:
It was really unfortunate for India not to see the dawn of Independence together, when the entire nation fought for it for 200 long years together. It was a dream for many to see an Independent Nation but it was nightmare for even more to see two divided nations. When everybody should have united to celebrate for the land they had fought for, at the time of independence, one could see Hindus and Muslims two sons of the same mother unscrupulously killing each other.
It was in 1947 that one could clearly see the seeds of lust of power germinating, when, a handful of politicians, for satisfaction of their greed to hold power, let loose on the entire nation the dance of death.
It was because of this that the headline of newspapers on 15th August 1947 was not INDIA: AN INDEPENDENT STAR SHINES TO GLORY AT THE MID NIGHT OF 14TH AUGUST 1947; rather the National Herald Newspaper slapped the nation with headlines saying:
JINNAH WANTS INDIA PARTITON
• DEMANDS TWO AUTONOMOUS STATES.
• 25 LAKH NON MUSLIMS LEAVE WEST PUNJAB.
Pinjar- The Movie re-lives for us the same trauma of partition. It even shows the bizarre scenes of rape, massacre and plunder that were witnessed during the partition. It teaches that the entire melodrama that ensued revealed the weakness and shortsightedness of man who failed to understand the difference between political games and national unity.
HIT AT THE WOMEN:
At the time of independence man respected neither the motherland nor did the daughters of this motherland. Women were worst hit at the time of partition. They were raped, exploited and degraded.
In the movie we see that Puro (Urmila) and Lajo (Sandalli) and many more such women were carried away from their houses and were mentally, physically and sexually exploited. The animosity between the two religions was taken by exploiting the women of each religion. There were cases in which one women was raped by more than 10 men each day.
Such inhuman deeds still are a part of our society. Hardly a day goes when newspapers do not carry news of rapes and molestation the rate has only increased.
Therefore, all this make Pinjar a movie that had started 57 years earlier and still continues to run, and will continue further if nothing is done to control this savage human instinct.
PENDING GENERATIONAL SCORES:
Pinjar the movie also talks about the scores that existed between two communities three generations earlier. When Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) abducts Puro (Urmilla) he tells her that:
“Tere dada ke ladke ne mere dadi ki ladki ko teen din zabardasti apne ghar mei Rakha”
And this is the reason why Rashid picks up Puro (who was soon going to get married) and keeps her at his place for 15 days, and consequently for her entire life, because after that she is a burden for her family. They refuse to accept her. Puro’s (Urmila’s) mother and father ask her to leave if she wants her rest of the family to survive. Poor girl has no other option but to live with Rashid (Manoj Bajpai).
And if one goes deep into the society one will find out that such thing is very much a part of our society. Therefore Pinjar becomes a movie that is the mouthpiece of society.
IDENTITY CRISIS OF A GIRL:
The change of name of Urmila in the movie from Puro to Hameeda is not a simple change. It is much more than that. It is a change of religion, a change of faith, a change of personal identity. And no matter how much she tried to rub-off that name from her wrist it is very much a part of her. Her personal self contradicts the self that has been imposed on her, but she is forced to live in that very imposition.
This scene in the movie is highly significant. It shows that a woman undergoes a complete change of personality. Regardless of what she wants she is forced to do what her husband wants her to do. Pinjar portrays all this with acute sensitivity.
GENERATION GAP:
As said earlier the movie raises multiple themes Generation Gap that exists in our society is very much talked about in the movie. One can clearly see the difference in the thinking of Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) and his uncle who instigates him to abduct Puro (Urmila), and also between Priyanshu (Puro’s brother) and his father, for whom Puro is nothing but a dead memory.
This also brings us to a very important point in the movie i.e. every human being was encaged in the hypocritical norms of the society. Each wanted to act differently but was acting all together different due to societal pressure. Puro’s father wants to take her daughter back but he knows the society around will discard him if he keeps her anymore with him. Her brother wants to fight for her, get her back but is also encaged by the society. Similarly, Rashid (Manoj Bajpai) does not want to abduct her but still does because his community wants him to do so.
All the themes that I have talked about are very much a part of our society. And Pinjar has the potential to shake the common man into realization of what is happening around him.
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