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Peepli Live

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Peepli Live
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnusha Rizvi
Screenplay byAnusha Rizvi
Story byAnusha Rizvi
Produced byAamir Khan
Kiran Rao
StarringOmkar Das Manikpuri
Raghubir Yadav
Shalini Vatsa
Malaika Shenoy
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Naseeruddin Shah
CinematographyShanker Raman
Edited byHemanti Sarkar
Music byIndian Ocean
Brij Mandal
Bhadwai
Nagin Tanvir
Ram Sampath
Production
company
Aamir Khan Productions
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 13 August 2010 (2010-08-13)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹10 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹46.85 crore[2]

Peepli Live is a 2010 Indian satirical black comedy film that explores the topic of farmer suicides and the subsequent media and political response.[3] It is written and directed by Anusha Rizvi in her directorial debut, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The film stars Naya Theatre company member Omkar Das Manikpuri as well as Naseeruddin Shah, Raghubir Yadav, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shalini Vatsa and Malaika Shenoy along with a number of newcomers. Peepli Live, distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, was released on 13 August 2010.

Peepli Live was India's official entry for the 83rd Academy Awards Best Foreign Film category[4][5] although it was not nominated.[6]

Plot

[edit]

Natha is a poor farmer from the village of Peepli in Mukhya Pradesh who struggles to earn enough money for his family. After taking a trip to the city with his elder brother, Budhia, Natha discovers that the banks will seize his farm if he does not pay off his outstanding loans. Meanwhile, the Mukhya Pradesh government has called a by-election where the opposition party believes they have a chance to form the government. The agricultural, poverty-stricken population has lost faith in the long-serving ruling party, whose Chief Minister, along with the Federal Agriculture Minister, believe in the industrialisation of rural areas.

Natha and Budhia request financial help from the village headman, who mockingly suggests that they commit suicide, after which his family will receive monetary compensation for his death from the government. Budhia encourages Natha to do this for the sake of his family, but Natha is hesitant. While the two discuss at a tea stall, Rakesh, a local journalist, overhears the conversation and reports Natha's impending suicide on the news. The report quickly spreads to national news channels; one high-profile journalist, Nandita, joins Rakesh to interview Natha and his family. A rival channel also picks up the story, and each competes to report on Natha's suicide, increasingly intruding on his private life.

The media at large soon descends on Peepli to await Natha's suicide, monitoring him at all hours. Natha becomes a celebrity, attracting visitors and businesses to the village. The ruling party tries to bribe Natha to prevent him from committing suicide, fearing it will galvanize the opposition. Conversely, the opposition encourages Natha to commit suicide, hoping to win the election while also using media attention to advance their own agendas. Rakesh, meanwhile, discovers a poor farmer in Peepli has died after his land was seized by a bank. He proposes writing a piece about the farmer to Nandita, who becomes frustrated and instructs Rakesh to concentrate on Natha's story.

The village headman, allied with the ruling party, secretly kidnaps Natha and holds him ransom from the opposition parties. Rakesh tracks down Natha to a warehouse in Peepli and contacts Nandita, who rushes to the location; however, the rest of the media follow her there, suspecting she has a lead on Natha. In the resulting confusion, a spill from a Petromax lamp sets fire to the warehouse, which explodes, killing Rakesh. Government officials mistake Rakesh's badly burnt body for Natha's; after ruling that the death was an accident, the government refuses to compensate Natha's family, leaving them helpless. After Natha's death is reported, visitors and media depart from Peepli, leaving it decrepit. Before driving off, Nandita briefly wonders what happened to Rakesh.

As the film ends, Natha is shown to have escaped to Gurgaon, where he works as a day labourer in the construction industry.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Peepli Live began as a script written by NDTV journalist Anusha Rizvi called The Fallen. In 2004 Rizvi asked Aamir Khan to read her script and, although he initially refused as he was preoccupied with shooting Mangal Pandey: The Rising, he eventually decided to finance the film after she described the plot to him.[7] In an interview, Khan explains the meaning of the movie title: "When we were looking for the right title before we began the publicity and promotions of the film, we came up with Peepli Live. Peepli is the village that film is set in, the "live" part is meant to indicate: here is a story that is happening in Peepli that the filmmaker is bringing to you live. That's why it's Peepli Live."[8] Peepli Live was filmed on various locations in Madhya Pradesh such as Bhopal, Indore, Tikamgarh, Khurai as well as in New Delhi. Maxima Basu designed the costumes aptly capturing the rural essence of the film. According to Aamir Khan, many of the actors are Adivasis from the sub-urban area of Bhopal, Bhadwai in Madhya Pradesh.[9] Other cast members are from playwright Habib Tanvir's theatre troupe Naya Theatre.[10]

Release

[edit]

Peepli Live competed in the Sundance Film Festival, the first film from India to achieve this feat. With support of media billionaire Keyur Patel of Fuse Global who is major hollywood financier "Peepli Live" was selected at Sundance Film Festival and his relationship with Robert Redford provided a great platform there.[11] It received an 'A' adult certificate in India for language use.[12] The movie was picked up by speciality German distribution company Rapid Eye Movies for a special screening at the Berlin International Film Festival.[13] It was also named the Best First Feature Film at the 31st Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.[14] In the United Kingdom, the film was released on 24 September.[15] Peepli Live reportedly recovered its cost before its release itself.[16]

Reception

[edit]

Critical reception

[edit]

Peepli Live received positive reviews. Subhash K. Jha, film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood, describes Peepli Live as "a work of damning ramifications." He further states that, "To most of us out here sitting in the auditorium, farmers' suicide is just a headline. Read, regretted and then put to bed. Peeply (Live) is that savagely raw and hurtful wake-up call for the conscience which does not mince words."[17] Nikhat Kazmi of the Times of India gave the film three and a half out of five stars stating," How smart can Indian cinema get? Exhilarating answer: Very smart. And that's the bottomline of Peepli Live, a small little film, that showcases the real India without glossing over the contradictions of our fumbling-bumbling democracy or getting overtly sentimental about garibi and the attendant grime that goes with it.[18] Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph wrote "Peepli Live demands to be absorbed and not just watched over the weekend" and praised the director Anusha Rizvi – "she has the gift of the dark humour satire ala Shyam Benegal and in her uncompromised shooting style, she shows the fire of Mira Nair".[19] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it four and a half out of five stars and argues that "the concept [farmers' suicides] would instinctively translate into a serious, thought-provoking film. But Peepli [Live] takes a grim and solemn issue, turns it into a satire, garnishes it with populist sentiment and makes a far greater impact than a mere documentary, had it tackled the burning issue. In fact, like all Aamir Khan films, Peepli [Live] marries realism with a winning box-office formula most brilliantly."[20] Mayank Shekhar of The Hindustan Times gave the film four out of five stars arguing that "the satire is irresistible; the subtext, compelling. And yet neither shows itself up in any form of self-seriousness. The comic writing is immaculately inspired".[21] Noyon Jyoti Parasara of Yahoo gave the film 3.5 out of five and said, "Peepli [Live] is a class act and director Anusha Rizvi and producer Aamir Khan could take a bow for working this into reality".[22] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN also gave it three and a half out of five stars, calling it "a scathing satire on the country's apathy towards the rural class, and specifically towards farmers, Peepli Live employs a comic tone to tell a serious story. The witty script turns Natha into something of a local celebrity, who draws out the true character and motivations of all those who cross his path."[23] Mathures Paul of The Statesman gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Anusha Rizvi demolishes successfully whatever little faith we had in the political process. Peepli (Live) is entertaining and inspiring".[24]

As of June 2020, the film holds an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 reviews with an average rating of 6.32 out of 10.[25] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "Generally Favorable" reviews.[26]

Box office

[edit]

According to Box Office India, Peepli Live took a good start[27] and did a business of ₹40 million (US$480,000) on its first day.[28] The film collected ₹299.1 million (US$3.6 million) by the end of its third week and was declared a super hit.[29] Overseas, the film opened to a limited release at 64 places in the U.S., and was ranked third, grossing $350,054 in the domestic market[30] and $700,000 worldwide in its opening weekend.[31]

Awards and nominations

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2011 Filmfare Awards
  • Nominated: Filmfare award for Best Film[32]
  • Nominated: Filmfare award for Best Costume Design
2011 Star Screen Awards
  • Winner : Star Screen Award for Best Ensemble Cast[33]
6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards[34][35]
  • Winner : Apsara Award for Best Story – Anusha Rizvi
  • Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role – Omkar Das Manikpuri
  • Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) – Raghubir Yadav
  • Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) – Farukh Jaffer
2011 Zee Cine Awards[36]
5th Asian Film Awards[37]
  • Winner : Best Composer – Indian Ocean
  • Nominated : Best Film – Aamir Khan
  • Nominated : Best Newcomer – Omkar Das Manikpuri
  • Nominated : Best Editor – Hemanti Sarkar
3rd Mirchi Music Awards[38][39]
  • Winner : Upcoming Lyricist of The Year – Bhadwai Village Mandali – "Mehngai Dayain"
  • Nominated : Upcoming Lyricist of The Year – Noon Meem Rashid – "Chola Maati Ke Ram"
  • Nominated : Male Vocalist of The Year – Bhadwai Village Mandali – "Mehngai Dayain"
  • Nominated : Music Composer of The Year – Bhadwai Village Mandali – "Mehngai Dayain"
  • Nominated : Music Composer of The Year – Nageen Tanvir – "Chola Maati Ke Ram"

Soundtrack

[edit]
Peepli Live
Soundtrack album by
Indian Ocean, Raghubir Yadav, Nageen Tanvir and Ram Sampath
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelT-Series

The music is composed by Indian Ocean, an Indian band and Ram Sampath.

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Chola Maati Ke Ram"Gangaram SakhetNageen TanvirNageen Tanvir3:14
2."Des Mera" Indian Ocean, Sanjeev SharmaIndian Ocean4:55
3."Des Mera – I" Indian Ocean, Sanjeev SharmaIndian Ocean4:55
4."Mehngai Dayain" Brij Mandal, BhadwaiRaghubir Yadav, Brij Mandal, Bhadwai3:57
5."Zindagi Se Darte Ho" Indian OceanIndian Ocean7:30
6."Mehngai Dayain" (Remix) Ram SampathRaghubir Yadav4:37

Controversies

[edit]

The film was subject to a few controversies. VJAS (Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti), the Nagpur-based farmer's advocacy group, asked the Maharashtra government to ban the film due to its depiction of farmer suicides. Kishor Tiwari, the president of VJAS, stated: "TV serial 'Bairi Piya' has shown that debt-trapped Vidarbha farmers are selling daughters to clear their debt, while 'Peepli Live' is far from reality and an insult to poor farmers of Vidarbha who have been victims of globalization and wrong policies of the state."[40]

In addition, according to the Hindustan Times, "folk singer Rama Joshi alleges that a song Chola Mati Ke Ram, which has been used in the film, does not give credit to Gangaram Siwar, a celebrated folk singer of Chhattisgarh and the original lyricist of the folk song." In response, Nageen Tanwir, who sang the song in the film, stated: "The song, Chola Maati Ke Ram, has been composed by Gangaram Siwar in Chhattisgarh, but the Habib Tanvir theatre group has officially purchased rights for the song. So I don't understand why people from Chhattisgarh are asking for their due again."[41]

Also, according to John Travolta, Peepli Live was inspired by 1997 English film Mad City. In an interview with The Hindu, he stated that he was astonished to learn that India's official entry for the Oscars this year, Peepli Live, was inspired by Mad City, his best film as an actor.[42]

The film's storyline also shares similarity to Malayalam film Pakal. Its director M. A. Nishad says: "The storyline of the Bollywood movie Peepli Live has a similar theme to Pakal, which was released much before the Hindi film. The difference was in the narrative style."[43]

The song "Mehngai dayan khaye jat hai" was challenged in court by the Congress party alleging that Sonia Gandhi was called as "Dayan" (female ghost) in the movie. However, the argument did not sustain and the case was dismissed by the court holding that Sonia Gandhi was not responsible for the rising inflation in India.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Peepli Live Recovers Production Costs". Thaindian News. 12 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Peepli [Live] – Movie". Box Office India.
  3. ^ "'Peepli Live' gets strong reception at Berlin film fest". The Economic Times. 18 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 July 2010.
  4. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (24 September 2010). "'Peepli Live' is India's Oscar entry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  5. ^ "'Peepli Live' is India's official entry for Oscars 2011". NDTV. 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  6. ^ "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  7. ^ Sanjukta Sharma (24 July 2010). "Aamir Khan: The box-office economist". Mint. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Bringing Peepli into Our Lives: an interview with Aamir Khan". Asia Pacific Arts. 13 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Aamir's Peepli Live going to Sundance film fest". Sify. Indo-Asian News Service. 7 December 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  10. ^ Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi (18 July 2010). "Aamir casts magic once more". The Daily Star. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Aamir's Peepli Live goes to Sundance fest". The Times of India. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  12. ^ Joshi, Tushar (13 January 2010). "Why Aamir's next gets an A rating from Censor Board". Mid-day.com. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Peepli Live to Release in Germany in 2010 Q3". DearCinema.com.
  14. ^ "Peepli Live named Best First Feature Film". Hindustan Times. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  15. ^ "Peepli Live set to hit screens in Britain on Sept 24". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  16. ^ "Postcards For Aamir From 500 'Peepli' Villages". Thaindian.com. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  17. ^ Jha, Subhash (14 August 2010). "Subhash K Jha speaks about Peepli (Live)". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  18. ^ Kazmi, Nikhat (12 August 2010). "Peepli Live Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  19. ^ Pratim D. Gupta (14 August 2010). "Die Hard". The Daily Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  20. ^ Adarsh, Taran (10 August 2010). "Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  21. ^ Shekhar, Mayank. "Peepli Live Review". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  22. ^ Shekhar, Mayank. "Peepli Live Review". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  23. ^ Masand, Rajeev. "Peepli Live Review". IBN. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  24. ^ "Fills a hungry paunch". The Statesman. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Peepli Live (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Peepli Live reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  27. ^ "Peepli [Live] Good Start Help Dull". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  28. ^ "The Box Office Clout of Brand Aamir". Box Office India. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  29. ^ "Box Office: All India 2010". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  30. ^ "Arthouse Audit: 'Get Low' Gets Up". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  31. ^ "Peepli Live Does Well Overseas". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  32. ^ "Nominations for 56th Filmfare Awards 2010". Sify. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019.
  33. ^ "Winners of 17th Annual Star Screen Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  34. ^ "Nominations for 6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  35. ^ "Winners of 6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  36. ^ "Nominations for Zee Cine Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  37. ^ "5th AFA People's Choice Awards | AsianFilmAwards.Asia". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  38. ^ "Nominees – Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2010". 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  39. ^ "Winners – Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2010".
  40. ^ "Vidarbha farmers demand 'Peepli' ban". The Times of India. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  41. ^ "Peepli Live in yet another controversy". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  42. ^ Ranjan Das Gupta (10 October 2010). "Hollywood needs Bollywood more". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  43. ^ Vijay George (19 November 2010). "A lucky charm?". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
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