Paatal Lok (Amazon Prime Video, 2020) has intentionally or unintentionally ruffled enough feathers to garner public curiosity and attention and keep #PaatalLok trending on all social media platforms. The web series has offended the sensibilities of a certain segments of the Hindus, the Sikhs, Nepali Gorkha communities in India and is believed to appease religious minority. The series is also said to be the propaganda vehicle for the ‘liberals’ or even the ‘Left-Liberals’ in the country. So it crams quite a bit in the nine episodes based on the book The Story of My Assassins (2010) by Tarun Tejpal.
The series was released on an OTT platform—that is paid and requires discretion rather than censorship for viewing. So the series chooses to tell a dark story with blood and gore. Resultantly the existing societal faultlines are on display. Knowing the power of the visual medium, the imagery in the series does not shy away shaking the audience out of the preconceptions of India that have been gathered over time through mainstream Indian cinema.
‘Normal’ Mainstream Commercial Hindi Cinema
Overtime,
it was ‘normal’ to dumb down the audience and dilute/ distort reality in
commercial films. A large chunk of Indian cinema (read Hindi cinema) then came
to be made with an urban backdrop with dream sequences that transported you to
the Alps and Andes instantly. Rural and/ or small town India took you to the
Yash Chopra/ Sooraj Bharjatiya set ups which created fictional towns and
villages which had cowbells ringing lazily in the yellow mustard fields. The
maximum that these films showed was how the ‘hero’ would fight 50 goons with
rifles, single-handedly to prove a point. How will such films court controversies
especially when the entry point for new aspiring filmmakers was so restricted?
And, why would they? They had their steady, loyal audience who did not ask why
the hero was always a Raj/ Rahul/ Rohan/ Rohit/ Aryan—Malhotra/ Singh/ Raichand
and where the representation or inclusivity was.
Even
‘rooted’ films were based on the filmmaker’s depiction of real India that would
secure censorship clearance without a hitch. The close connection between the
society and films and how they mutually influence and mirror each other
justified strong censorship. Conservative argument expected ‘responsible’ films
to be made that leave a positive impact on ‘impressionable minds’ watching
them. So for a long time now, people have been anyway watching what they have
been permitted to watch, well, more or less.
The Game Changer
Globalisation
brought interesting changes into the industry. Small budget films with a new
base of audience that looked beyond formulaic filmmaking was now feasible. As
new filmmakers entered the industry with darker stories that long needed to be
told, the competition became starker. A new ‘real’ had redefined the ‘norms’.
The film industry suddenly boasted of a ‘mature audience’ that has now grown to
accept and like traditionally unviable stories. The censors perhaps did not
mature at the same speed though. With the number of controversies—intended and
unintended—that the filmmakers courted with the censors will be a topic of
discussion some other day. Suffice it to say that the OTT platforms changed the
game completely.
It is now possible to side-step the censors altogether to tell the select audience—who ‘choose to’ watch the web series—a story that the filmmaker ‘wants to’ tell. Why? Because all stories have a right to be told. And after all, why not? The rules of the game here on OTT platforms are slightly different than in the outside world. If the content hurts your sensibilities, it is not the Harm Principle you refer to and seek paternalistic regulations of these ‘other regarding actions’. You simply need to switch to something more agreeable to your senses for it might not have affected me as adversely. And you really have no right to decide whether and what I watch. Isn’t that a part of one’s Freedom of Expression too?
We return to the issues raised specifically by Paatal Lok now and we follow the dynamics that have shaped Indian politics for all these years—class, caste, region, religion and gender by their inclusion or conspicuous exclusion. Ideology is a new touchy issue that gets added to the menu as also the dash of mythology that seems to be the new flavour of the web series made in the past couple of years.
Dynamics of Indian Mythology
India
has a phenomenal mythological base. They have come to be woven into recent web
series with ingenuity. So shows like Sacred
Games, Asur and now Paatal Lok, among a few others have
references to characters and circumstances that have been seamlessly woven into
the craft. It is intriguing that people have found these references
objectionable for unimaginative reasons and have asked why only Hindu mythology
has been resorted to. Well, possibly because it IS the one closest to us and
thus the most relatable? If you don’t understand why Aham Brahmasmi was used, how would you relate to Greek mythology,
for God’s sake?
And
by the same assumption that the visual medium provokes violence and other vices
such as smoking and drinking among youth watching them—they should be also
provoking a thought process, thus making Indian mythology ‘cool’ to be read and
discussed? I even found it pretty tongue-in-cheek when the makers showed how
little we knew about or read about our mythology when they had Hathi Ram
Chaudhari state not once but TWICE that these have been written in our Sastras but he had read it on WhatsApp.
Sarcasm is usually a lost art.
One
such furore about Paatal Lok was
raised around Sanjeev Mehra’s pet/ stray dog being named Savitri. A section of social media went hammer and tongs after why
they should use such a name to shame their religion. They could have named the
poor dog anything indeed BUT for the blessed mythological significance of Savitri saving her husband’s life from
the Lord of Death, Yama— here Savitri’s presence singularly fizzled
out the Sanjeev Mehra assassination bid. The saying goes that the devil is in
details. But no, symbolism and details are not things that we seek. We have
been infantalised and spoon-fed by our films so much that everything has to be
in your face or they refuse to acknowledge it.
Why
didn’t references to Eklavya raise as
much frenzy? Why don’t we talk about the injustice inherent in the mythological
episode and selectively speak about his devotion? Nonetheless, there is a
serious question about an inherent Hinduphobia in the content made of late.
Dynamics of Ideology and Propaganda
I
really don’t know how many people in India cared for or understood (or still
do) the concept of ideologies until recently. Resultantly, a large number of
people have a half-baked understanding of the term and where they themselves
stand on the linear scale of inclination. They make inexplicably conflicting
choices—political and economic. So it is a little dicey to believe them when
they lecture you about the ideological propaganda at play through the visual
medium.
For
long, our education system was firmly placed at left of centre. This
consequently defined its own centre and the term ‘liberal’ as per one’s own
standing on the graph rather than the actual definition. So anything to the
right of it is automatically termed ‘Right Wing’ and hence ‘dangerous’. Resultantly,
it is true that people may be charged for being what they are not, due to
initial preconceptions and notions which were never addressed or called out
given that it was the ‘normal’.
Given
the switch in government in recent years and their conscious efforts to
redefine the ‘centre’ if not the ‘right’, there is a certain sense of
insecurity, both among the academia and the people. It is not unfounded, given
certain extremely serious reasons to question the whole process, methodology
and justification given for the same. However, let us reiterate the fact that
governments have used education and textbooks per se to extend their hegemony
and shape public ideas and beliefs. Let us not absolve any political party or
government of having done that.
Artists,
the media and the intelligentsia have been responsible for overtly or covertly
propagating ideas that challenge/ criticise the incumbent government which otherwise
may be repressed. So to that extent, if one says that Paatal Lok brings out issues selectively and in a certain light, it
may not be entirely wrong. So when Sanjeev Mehra states that “We (journalists)
were the heroes” and that now they are trolled, threatened and fired; when he
calls the liberals a cliché and when he still peddles fake news without batting
an eyelid, Paatal Lok actually dwells
extensively on his hypocrisy of ideology if only we looked carefully. Which
brings us to ask ourselves what ‘real India’ is about?
Dynamics of Class
Hathi
Ram Chaudhari relates the mythology of Swarg
Lok, Dharti Lok and Paatal Lok with parts of Delhi-NCR
pretty clearly. So there is no ‘one India’ as such. For the nuances of honour
killings (NH-10), drug abuse (Uddta Punjab) and politics-crime
complicity (Paatal Lok)[*],
you evidently have to go deeper into the country-side for layers of reality to
emerge. These are not particularly the preferred choices of the commercial
filmmakers. So most often people choose to also live in a state of denial.
After all, Tope Singh/ Chaku racing out of his village on a dusty countryside
road busts all sights and sounds of a Punjab village hitherto held on to with
cow bells ringing in blooming yellow mustard fields. Hence perhaps they also, chose
Chitrakoot—to assert its existence and explore its narrow by-lanes. Otherwise
it could have been Chandrapur and the classist audience would still not know
where the dot lies on the map.
Outer
Jamuna Paar police station and Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhari’s character come
out in stark contrast to say, a Bajirao Singham’s. Hathi Ram is a classic
loser; who is too idealistic to flatter, feign or give up; who is determined to
make his mark; who is vulnerable, bleeds, limps, suffers headaches. And then
there is the awestruck police constable Manju clicking selfies with a celebrity
journalist or leaking out prime suspect names through sweet talk and pastries
are nuances which need an expert eye. When was the last time you saw a cop like
that on screen?
The
characters’ accents bring out the different India they belong to as well—both
class and region.
Dynamics of Region
The
series has also gained sufficient attention with regards to the regionalism
that is overtly on display. It stoked the fire of identity politics afresh with
the profanities thrown at a character which is clearly from North-East India.
During interrogation, Cheeni comes to be referred to as a ‘Nepali prostitute’;
then passed off as Girija Gurung and Mary Lyngdoh. The Nepali-Gorkha community
has taken serious objection to the prejudicial language used against the
community. They have insisted that it would reflect women from their community
in a bad light and add to the discrimination and their vulnerability to sexual
advances and physical attacks. Knowing how little people know of the North East
and corona virus related racial discrimination they have faced in recent times,
these objections are not totally misplaced.
However,
I believe the series provides a serious platform to bring up this as a talking
point. These surnames do not even share the common ethnicity. While one is a
common surname in Nepal, the other is common in Meghalaya. People are oblivious
to these details while they argue how they made a Tyagi the anti-hero. I
believe it is evident that our priorities are grossly misplaced. Having spoken about Cheeni, it is imperative
we stick to the question of gender.
Dynamics of Gender
Paatal Lok brings the horror stories discussed in gender
studies to the fore. Using rape as power-play; that women’s bodies bear the
collateral damage during any conflicts; that family honour lies with the women
of the house each comes across with startling impact. Vishal Tyagi’s sisters,
Tope Singh/ Chaku’s mother and Cheeni all bear marks of the gender based
violence. The audacity and the matter-of-fact manner in which they talk about
sexual assaults should ideally make us focus on the issue which is usually
invisiblised. There are of course other layers to the gender dynamics which
includes Cheeni’s sexuality as a transgender fervently working for a
‘sex-change operation’ and Chanda who uses her femininity to her
advantage.
However,
this part in fact evoked some serious questions from the Sikh community.
Dynamics of Religion
A
section of the Sikh community took objection to the sexual assault on Tope
Singh’s mother by people shown to be from their community in the series.
Religion therefore, is an extremely emotive issue and especially in filmmaking
in India, it’s a tightrope walk. So when Vishal/ Hathoda Tyagi is shown to hail
from Chitrakoot, it is considered purposefully done to hurt sentiments as the
place has scriptural mention. Also, when people with dubious reputations offer
prayers to their deities it is considered hurtful. There is another serious
question raised about a character being served meat in a temple by a priest. But
don’t these characters exist in real life? Why are we living under a rock?
Also, I have recollection of places of worship which continue to have animal
sacrifices and on occasions make offerings to the deities as well. Their prasad IS meat. So I wonder whether we
are jumping the gun with the ruckus.
There
are some pertinent scenes which bring out what years of socialisation do to
people’s mindsets. The prejudices and language and choice of words that may be
derogatory to the ‘other’ are so deeply internalised that it takes conscious
efforts to realise that one has become a part of the larger malaise. I think
Hathi Ram understands this.
Also,
when Imran Ansari is shown pitch perfect with his English, hardworking, honest,
determined to crack the UPSC Civil Services examination and still gets advised
to come across as ‘positive and progressive’ at mock interviews, it tells us
about the larger communal issue at hand. When another candidate casually states
that Ansari would be selected as even the UPSC needs to prove its
‘representation’, it underlines the same issue. When Ansari accepts prasad at the police station, it may be
less about showing how ‘liberal’ he is, but more about his efforts to fit in.
There may be perspectives which look at the same scenes through a different
prism.
Kabir
M. is another case in point. He doesn’t know his surname; he does not read
Urdu; his father says he didn’t even allow him to grow up a Muslim and they
made him into a Pakistani jihadi.
This, and the lynching-stabbing episode on the railway station over the meat in
the lunchbox bring out real life situations that have been woven with cinematic
liberties. So one may look at it as propaganda but cannot refute their
occurrence altogether.
They
ask why they did not reflect on the shortcomings of other religions while they
focus on the Hindu ones. They may, in Season 2, if there is one and if you wait
for one. Or someone who shares your standpoint could make one which tells the
story from a different perspective. However, it is relevant to note that
Tejpal’s book was published in 2010. The specific communal references are
therefore improvisations on the story thereafter and reflect on the makers’
political stance. Therefore the mention to ghar
wapsi, lynching, Left-Liberals getting trolled, Gauri Lankesh’s murder and
Batla House must be taken with care and consideration as they are passing
references and do not bring out clear intentions.
Another
extremely emotive dynamic is the caste which also gets depicted with gravity.
Dynamics of Caste
Tope
Singh/ Chaku belongs to the Manjaar caste and gets humiliated and bullied time
and again for the same in the village. Out of belligerence, he gets roped into
caste politics and then becomes a dispensable pawn. But the propaganda and caste
consciousness that gets dinned into young minds through lyrics and catchy rap
and hip hop music have been absorbed flawlessly. This is an area which needs
more study and attention.
Bajpayee
championed the cause of Dalits while still quietly holding on to his casteist
beliefs by carrying cans of gangajal
to purify himself after any contact with his votebank is again not unknown.[†]
That he made use of muscle power offered by the Gujjars—Donullia and Gwala
Gujjar—to ensure his sway over the local populace talks of our acquaintance with
the criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime.
Paatal Lok carefully uncovers the layers of dynamics that
shape Indian politics and social fabric. So I close the rather long piece with
a few questions:
·
Why
is it necessary to always create a backstory to prove how Vishal Tyagi became
Hathoda Tyagi or Tope Singh became Chaku? Why do we need to prove that they
have been victims of circumstances? How would it have affected the storyline if
they had just chosen crime as their career?
·
Was
the reference to Batla House necessary? Or could we have done without it?
·
Lastly,
Gwala Gujjar asks Hathi Ram to hand over Masterji’s
rudraksh to Vishal Tyagi as the
latter had the right to know why he was unable to connect to his saviour/ handler.
Vishal Tyagi shoots himself in desperation and the deep sense of aimlessness
and loss on knowing his mentor is no more. However, it instantly made me think:
(1)
Knowing
Hathoda Tyagi so well, was sending in the rudraksh
Gujjar’s way of eliminating him?
(2)
Did
Hathi Ram become a pawn and inadvertently executed the plan to eliminate Tyagi,
making way for the Bajpayee-Gujjar alliance, at which DCP Bhagat had
failed?
