Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Peepli [Live] (2010)


Peepli [Live] (2010)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Anusha Rizvi
Starring: Omkar Das Manikpuri, Raghuvir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa
Duration: 110 min.
Rating: 7.9/10

Summary:
On the eve of national elections in the Indian village of Peepli, two poor farmers, Natha and Budhia, face losing their land over an unpaid government loan.  Desperate, they seek help from an apathetic local politician, who suggests they commit suicide to benefit from a government program that aids the families of indebted deceased farmers.  When a journalist overhears Budhia urge Natha to "do what needs to be done" for the sake of their families, a media frenzy ignites around whether or not Natha will commit suicide.


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Peepli [Live], the debut film from Anusha Rizvi, is India's official entry for the 83rd Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category.  Straying from the usual Bollywood formulaic storyline, Peepli [Live], delivers a compelling and scathing satire on Indian mass media, politics, and the treatment of the farming class.  Very funny, yet serious, and done without the tired old cliches.  Hopefully this is the beginning of a trend towards more realism in Indian cinema.      









9 comments:

MrNarci said...

You should watch Udaan. Much better than Peepli [Live]. Peepli, I felt, lost its script in the last half an hour.

Adalmin said...

What an interesting premise! I also notice the use of muted earth tones in the "rural" shots and the hyper-saturated colors in the "city" shots. Worth looking into :o

Willow said...

I've never been a fan of Bollywood films, I tried, but meh.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Good observation.

Politricks77 said...

A comedy yeeey now i'd like to see it even if i didn't hear about it

Smile said...

Great to see my advice payed up :D

Ayin said...

Hmm, I'll give it a shot if I run across it

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Me either. That's why this one was a pleasant surprise.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try to find that one.

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