Kaagaz (2021) Movie Review

‘Kaagaz’ review: Pankaj Tripatti is also full of life, vitality, humor and sadness in the story of dead man

Director: Satish Kaushik

Writers: Imtiaz Hussain

Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Sandeepa Dhar, Zeel Thacker

Release Date: 7 January 2021

IMDb Rating: 8.1 Out Of 10

At any other time in Indian history, the literal meaning of the name Kaagaz was just "paper." Or, in the context of this movie, it will be special and only means that the corruption in the file will be announcing that a living person named Ralbi Hari died in the 1970s, and that the corruption on the file will be accepted by the person’s uncle and cousin. , And then usurp the land of their relatives. However, in India today, the Civil Rights Amendment Act (CAA) and National Citizen Registration (NRC) have been widely criticized for their possible deprivation of the rights of legal Indian citizens. The significance of Kagaz is much more than that. It echoes the writer Valen. · Varun Grover's provocative poem, Hum kaagaz nahin dikhayenge (we will not show our paper), which became a slogan in the 2019-20 pan-Indian anti-CAA NRC protests.

Screenwriter and director: Satish Kaushik (Satish Kaushik) is a supporter of the current prime minister, so he seems unlikely to read his films intentionally, but, well, the film, like Kaushik, is a Jiabu cheese, once it is sent to the world, it belongs to both the recipient and the creator.

Kagazik’s "Kagaz" is based on the bizarre true story of Lal Bihari. He spent nearly 20 years trying to re-record his existence in the government records, and even took it. The name of Lal Bihari Mritak (Lal Bihari Mritak, deceased) to protest his treatment. The movie named the protagonist Bharat Lal Mritak as the protagonist, apparently to prevent legal actions by other players in this real drama documented by Indian and international media. When the closing text on the screen provided a sketch of "Rabbi Harry Milituck" and his "Milituck Sanger" (death organization), this undoubtedly left room for doubt in whose biographical film , The final shot shows the protagonists Pankaj Tripatti and Rabbi Hari, scrolling credit cards across the latter’s entire album.

Kagaz started with something trivial. Lal Bihari (Tripathi) runs a troupe of musicians who play at weddings and other events. At the urging of his wife, he applied for a bank loan, for which he had to provide collateral. The land he inherited from his late father was enough, but when he was looking for the land deed, he found that his uncle’s family had illegally taken over the land after announcing his death on paper.

From there he started his activism to reverse this injustice, which led to the formation of Mritak Sangh, when he learned that there are many Uttar Pradesh and India like him.

For nearly 20 years, a government and a bureaucracy have refused to officially recognize the existence of an individual standing in front of them. This situation is absurd and unbelievable. But it did happen. Kaushik cleverly combines details with comedy and bitterness. In the middle of the film, when the narrative becomes ridiculously teetering on the cliff in the tone of the reality of its narration, he flinches at the appropriate time. .

Kagaz effectively emphasized the fact that the tragedy of the legend of Rabbi Hari aka Bharat Laramritak lies not only in his personal pain, but also in the fact that he and other characters accept it, namely Corruption, bribery and bribery are an inseparable and integral part of Indian life. (Please pay attention to the scene of Bharat Rahr offering cash to the police.)

Unsurprisingly, Tripatti shines in the role of Bharat Lahr, injecting the best combination of energy, despair, humor and pathos into his performance. Just a few months ago, Kagaz played a pro-feminist father in "Gonjan Sachsena: Kargil Girl", and Kagaz was another feather in his film creation.

Kagaz’s weight comes from the enrichment of two supporting roles: Bharat Lal’s wife Rukmani (lovely played by Monar Gajar), whose life is most influenced by her husband’s mission, and A known honest politician (Mita Wahish), her response to the Bharat Rahr case was more enlightening than any other person involved.

However, due to the limited level of the script, this weight is greatly reduced. For example, there is little in-depth understanding of the roles played by rank, class, and gender in Bharat Lal's situation, as well as his ability and freedom in the years of battle. The brief conversation (poor execution) between two women about how men marginalize women is disturbing because its purpose is to sound frivolous, not serious, so it is contemptuous in a film where the silent person raises his voice. The reality of patriarchy.

Although this scene is short, it is particularly disappointing, because Kagaz’s attention to Rukhmani’s plight is crucial and unusual: a wife is left at home to take care of the fireplace, and a husband-no matter what Is it an activist or Santa Claus-gaining glory in the pursuit of a higher cause, but rarely receiving the same sympathy as she does here.

Kaushik himself as Bharat Lal's lawyer, Brijendra Kara as the judge, and Amar Upadia as a shady state legislator are all actors who stand out from the supporting cast.

Although some of the small role players in "Kagaz" are cheesy, they have lost a lot of skills in the film, as are the grammatical errors in the ending text and the misspelled names in the ending subtitles. The narrative is also a bit lagging behind the second half, especially when it gets preached, through a reporter who is otherwise realistic, and performed by Neha Johan (Aur Dhokha, G Kuta Se). When a poem reading by a Khan superstar enhanced the meaning of these lines and their influence in "Kagaz", Kasik’s character had too many narratives (there is a little unexpected Terry in the background) Patty).

Nevertheless, "Kagaz" is still an interesting and important film. Its director is basically certain. It is also the work of Tripatti, one of the best actors in contemporary Bollywood.