Thursday, May 27, 2010

What i thought of "Paltadacho Munis"

Yesterday i watched my first konkani movie ever and fortunately for me it was the most appropriate introductory platform i could have asked for. It was about a forest ranger who lives alone and leads a plain life dutifully watching over the vast forest for trespassers trying to steal wood. Each day is identical to the next and the pattern to his life is consistent for the most part.Sometimes, when home, his solitude is allayed by mementos and memories of a time in the past when his wife was alive.He has a little box with a few old and tattered belongings of his wife which he values like a treasure trove. In the course of his rigmarole life this mentally challenged vagabond woman strays into his turf and becomes quite territorial  about it. He tries a lot to kick her out but his attempts are thwarted by her relentless free spirit that refuses to be curbed. He finally resignedly accepts her presence and they co exist peacefully for a while. But this lasts only till the characteristic human need for affection surfaces and they reach out for each other. Over time he manages to tame her wild spirit  and develops a peculiar equation with her. Here again , carnal human instincts come to play and their equation intensifies into intimacy and she bears him a child..  This forest ranger, Vinayak, lives across the bridge which is what the name of the movie "paltadacho munis" means. While all this is happening on one side of the bridge the villagers on the other side are incensed when word reaches them. Their puritanical ideologies and orthodox thinking, unmitigated by the lack of education, compels them to think of the forest rangers actions as taboo and thereupon take action against it. This situation is a quintessential example of how social atrocities can penetrate the most far removed places. In the end, the only way in which Vinayak can keep his family safe from the villagers is by isolating them and severing all ties with society.He does this by breaking off his side of the wooden bridge  that joins his world to the village. If its not implicitly obvious as yet, i thought it was a brilliant film and loved it.