God can change your life!

Last week, I was watching this cute Marathi movie, titled 'Deool' on television. 'Deool' means 'temple' in Marathi. I had lost the passion to watch movies at one stretch, but this movie managed to keep me hooked till the end. I love watching good Hollywood, Malayalam and Marathi movies.  They are entertaining, the storyline are great, they make you genuinely laugh...so basically good value for money! This particular movie had awesome actors and a very good story line. I am partial to movies where the message is conveyed via the travails faced by the rural population.  Rural problems are related to lack of electricity, good roads, employment opportunities, good transportation. climatic woes and the list goes on.

 I liked the way in which the director has depicted the way in which development activities start off  in a village after a  temple is built. The activities that follow after that is hilarious. It kind of brings out the fact that some of us don't even spare god when we need to get our ambitions fulfilled. The poor man who claims to have seen god  becomes a puppet in the hands of the local politician and his cronies. I liked the scenes which were shot beautifully during night hours wherein the main actor is having a conversation with the idol and letting him know that he shouldn't appear to humans as they would take advantage of him and lock him up in a temple. How true! :) The beauty of the shot is that the natural moonlight surrounds the idol like a halo, making it resplendent and god like.

The helplessness of the common man is also displayed brilliantly. A respected person in the village doesn't get much help in getting a hospital to be a priority for the villagers as folks around him are more interested in arousing local sentiments towards building a temple. It's ideal. Temple equals to money as there would be tourists, shops to sell wares etc.
 
I don't think god will have an issue with getting locked in temples by his devotees. It may be his way of forcing his devotees to do some good work while in the process of filling their own coffers.

There was this movie in Malayalam which had a similar theme. The common man was represented by a person who was on a wheelchair. He couldn't walk but was depicted as someone who loved to attend political rallies. When the local politician benefits by swindling money that's meant for building a bridge, the plight of the common man is depicted via his death due to the bridge collapsing on account of shoddy construction work. In the end, the only thing that floats on the river is the wheelchair which is symbolic of  the plight of most humans.

We need such movies in today's times. People put on their thinking caps when they see these themes. They relate to them. I am optimistic. Some day, all of this is going to change. Soon, soon!!!

Coming back to this movie..it's a 'must watch' for all those who love meaningful cinema!!!



Short Review of movie

Reference: http://thecommonmanspeaks.com/2011/11/04/deool-marathi-movie-review/

Plot: In the rural areas of Maharashtra lies a peaceful village called Mangrul. One day Keshav (Girish Kulkarni), a village youth, sees lord Dattatrey (Datta) in his dreams while taking a nap under a tree. He makes a hue and cry in the village saying God made an appearance for him. Anna (Dilip Prabhavalkar), most respected figure of Mangrul, advises him against announcing such personal matter as it’s a question of faith.

However, it is too late as a journalist (Kishor Kadam) sensationalizes the news about Lord Dattatrey making an appearance in Mangrul. Hence, there is a demand for a Dattatrey temple. Bhau (Nana Patekar), a political activist, doesn’t approve it as he wants the funds to be used for better purposes but he seems helpless. The temple is built and the village becomes a holy place. Mangrul goes through a 360 degree change due to commercialization but nobody is complaining except Anna. Soon, due to the blindness of commercial progress, God is forgotten.  

Every village has a right to progress commercially but how ethical it is to use a temple and its God to achieve it? The question is raised in director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s latest offering Deool. While it does this, the audience is treated to some quality cinematic experience that deserves applause.