"Comedy and cruelty often go hand in hand."
-Kundan Shah, Director of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
Introduction
In 1983, under Kundan Shah’s direction, a drama-comedy named Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron was released. Although made on a shoestring budget, the movie starred some of the country's most refined actors. The protagonists were Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani. The movie formed a cult with the help of phenomenal side characters and actors impersonated by talented legends such as Satisk Kaushik, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Neena Gupta among others. The movie is a satirical comedy highlighting the corruption of society and individuals. It mocks the government, media, and real-estate sectors for their corruption and ill profit-making practices.
Image Credit: LBB
41 years after its release, the movie still manages to remain relevant, making the viewer ponder upon how much has the nation developed. The movie attempts to address the prevailing social issues with a blend of humor making it extremely engaging. The audience is initially drawn to empathize with the characters of the movie, captivated by their relatable struggles and emotions. Meanwhile, the film's narrative is rich with satire and clever wordplay, adding layers of depth and intrigue to the viewing experience. For instance, the media house provides the protagonists - Vinod and Sudhir - with an opportunity to enhance and uplift their business which is called Khabardar meaning ‘beware’ which can be seen as an attempt to establish the base of the agency being extremely truthful and frightening owing to its commitment towards exposing the scandals of the rich. The word can also be understood as a portmanteau containing “Khabar” meaning news and “daar” meaning provider, thus a news provider. As the story intensifies, we realize that the name Khabar is more of a warning to the naive and honest protagonists rather than the scandalous elites.
The Women
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron was a movie way ahead of its time, showing the various issues about women while still managing to display strong women with major roles in the plot of the film. For instance, in the very beginning of the movie, we see Sudhir eve-teasing a lady who is passing by their studio. The innate realization of how Sudhir believes these unwanted advances to be something that women like emphasizes the ridiculous and problematic justification men carry about their habits. The woman slaps Sudhir to deliver the message of the inappropriate gesture showcased by him addressing to the audience that not even the protagonist of the film is entitled to misbehave.
The movie features strong characters like Shobha (played by Bhakti Bharve) who is an editor of Khabardar, the news publication. The character is a powerful depiction of women being in charge in the patriarchal society. Shobha is ambitious and gutsy in her profession and isn’t scared to attack the rich and elites. Characters like hers, who are altering the course of the movies showcase the potentiality of women to have a charge in their work. Shobha is not scared by men of power or being in risky situations. For instance, she accompanies the protagonists to the secret meeting held by Tarneja and the bureaucrat to receive substantial evidence of the corruption of her magazine.
The second woman character is Priya (played by Neena Gupta) who is Tarneja (Om Puri’s assistant) unlike Shobha, she is seen wooing men and trying to win them over to get their work done. It is extremely disheartening to see the character behave in such a fashion but it makes us realize how there is little to no difference in the real world. However, it is also quite interesting how Priya uses patriarchy and the male gaze to her advantage. She uses her sexuality and lust for men to achieve what she aims for. Priya adopts a unique tool against sexism and patriarchy which is quite interestingly crafted by the writers. Many women across professions and places are faced with problems like these, where they are expected to remain silent despite the harassment they go through for the sake of their careers and professions. It is seen that more often than not, women are forced to agree and comply with their superiors because otherwise they will not be entertained.
Thus we see how the movie attempts to showcase the prevalent problems and the dual reality that exists for women. On one hand, we have a strong woman who does not bow down before anyone while at the same time, we have another woman who validates and wooes men to get her work done. This duality exists even in today’s world.
The Mahabharat scene and Indira Gandhi
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The movie’s comedy reaches its crescendo in the Mahabharat scene where we witness a comedy of errors and ultimate chaos. The scene was written after an extensive work of ten days and involved a lot of improvisation by the actors in it. Many critics have analyzed how the scene showcases a stark similarity with the assassination of the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards. There has been no clear clarification or confirmation by the makers but the similarity is uncanny. The scene depicts with humor a very dark and horrifying incident of the nation.
The iconic Mahabharata scene is a satirical depiction that parallels the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. In this scene, the characters enact a parody of the Mahabharata's Draupadi disrobing incident, wherein Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is publicly humiliated by the Kauravas.
Similarly, in the film, the character representing Draupadi symbolizes the nation of India, while the corrupt and powerful figures representing the Kauravas are analogous to the political establishment. This scene serves as a metaphorical commentary on the rampant corruption and abuse of power in Indian politics, culminating in the assassination of a prominent leader, which echoes the tragic demise of Indira Gandhi. Through this satirical portrayal, the film highlights the absurdity and chaos prevailing in society and politics during that era.
The scene shows the nuanced writing excellence possessed by the creators as well as the quality knowledge of theatrics by the actors multiplies the entertainment for the viewers.
The Politics and Media Nexus
The movie shows an intricately created nexus between politics and media that tarnishes the truth and honesty in the nation by promoting corruption. The movie depicts how for selfish interests and personal gains, the media often gets sold into the hands of the powerful and rich, forgetting its duty of delivering honest information to the masses. When Tarneja, the builder, tries to blackmail Shobha, she immediately agrees to put all the blame on the innocent protagonist, it shows how the bureaucracy and media truly function.
If we try to understand this nexus in the real world, it is not very hard to find. Every government tries to control the media houses to show the news that promotes them and eliminate any criticism that may arise. For instance, many contemporaneous media houses are owned by strong allies or business people of the government thus jeopardizing the authenticity and credibility of the agency. (1) This contract that persists between the media and the government is detrimental to the very essence of democracy and justice. In a very satirical way, the movie expresses this concern while maintaining the humor.
Witty Dialogues and Commentary on social issues
The movie consists of various sharp-witted dialogues that strike a thought about the prevalent social problems. For instance, there is a scene where D’Mello comments, “Kya baat hai America ka! Udhar peene ka paani alag, gutter ka alag” (translation, America is impressive! There, drinking water is different from sewage water.)
These lines are a strong attack on the government of the day, by highlighting how basic human needs such as clean drinking water seem as a luxury of the West. It can also be understood as how the glorification of the West is prevalent in Indian society where instead of questioning and working on our flaws we indulge in gross admiration towards the developed nations of the West, especially America.
Another interesting analysis of the movie is the unique play of religious symbols that was done by the makers to generate humor. In a time like today, where religion acts as a very intimate and sensitive subject with is potential to incite extreme violence among the masses, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, featured multiple scenes having such symbols. For example, after D’Mello’s demise, we see how Om Puri’s character mistakes the coffin to be a racing car, furthermore, Vinod and Sudhir donne a burqa to camouflage among a crowd of Muslim women. Finally, the Mahabharat scene with the corpse being wrapped in a yellow saree also becomes a classic example. Despite such usage of symbols, no protest or backlash was indicating a much more tolerant and easy-going nature of the Indian audience.
The Not-so Happy End
The movie offers a bitter realism at the end, with the protagonists losing showcasing the sad reality of the system. The movie highlights that despite the tremendous efforts and right deeds by the commoners, the nexus of commoners and power would lead to the demise of honesty and truth.
Sudhir also delivers a strong dialogue about this chaotic aspect of society by saying, ‘Bhookhe ki jeb kaatlo, vo kanooni hai. Tarneja jo kar raha hai vo kanooni hai. Jo hum jaise log karte hain wo gairkanooni.’ (translation, robbing a starving man is legal. What Tarneja is doing is legal. What people like us do is illegal.) The dialogue creates a powerful ambience making the audience ponder upon what is right and what is wrong.
Throughout the movie, we see the protagonists motivating themselves by singing the song, Hum Honge Kamyaab, showing the sense of hope and belief they carry in themselves as well as in society. In the last scene of the movie, Vinod and Sudhir are still seen singing the song indicative of their hope for truth and justice in the legal system of India. It also signifies the belief they carry of a better and free future for themselves and the nation.
The final sequence of the film underscores its message. In this scene, Vinod and Sudhir, now free after unjust imprisonment for D'Mello's murder, appear somber and wear worn-out prison clothes, a sharp contrast to the vibrant costumes in the preceding Mahabharata scene. Accompanied by a rendition of "Hum Honge Kaamyaab," the irony is palpable, and the audience may find a sense of dark humor in the situation. The hope associated with the earlier rendition of the same song has dissipated. As the characters stop at India Gate, gazing directly into the camera, they mime slicing their throats and simulate being hanged. This disturbing action reflects Vinod and Sudhir's resignation from their fates.
Conclusion
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron was a commercial flop but a cult movie that resonates with the Indian audience to date. The underlying messages of the cynical relationship between media and powerful men, the atrocities faced by the poor and underprivileged, and the question of women, among many others, are still equally relevant 41 years after its release.
Presented in an extremely light-hearted manner the movie manages to leave an imprint with exceptional acting, strong dialogues, and witty writing. As audience and citizens of this nation, we must ask ourselves if we’ve actually developed or has the nation transcended further into the initial problems we carried. Or we could just let it be? Aakhir, jaane bhi do yaaron!
By: Charvee
Final year graduation student of Political Science, Charvee is an inquisitive girl traversing her way through the complexities of life. An enthusiast of literature, society and politics, she is deeply interested reading and writing. While her brain wanders in the chaos of politics, her heart lies in lanes of literature, one may call her a living paradox.\