Living in Mumbai, maybe filmmaker Kundan Shah was a first-generation witness to rising corruption in the city. A lot of us live the effects of that unchecked corruption in our city’s real estate. I mean, it’s not like Mumbai is full of deaths and crime, but the dark dealings have become an undertone of the lifestyle of the city. Bribes are something most of the population engages in to get things done without honestly cleaning one’s act.
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The Suave Critic Video Essays consist of analysis videos on your favourite Indian and World Arthouse Films that are predominantly focused on shedding light on the morality, art and language of filmmaking.
Svanik Surve is a film student who is passionate about Deleuzian film analysis and atmospheric filmmaking that slows down this fast-paced world and introduces thought into the frame.
Script:
**Chapter 1 - India and Doordarshan**
A post-colonial, free India in the 20th century was like a prodigious infant. Booming with potential, the ideal of dreams coming true. (Playing hum honge kamyab)
One of the greatest brags of this newborn democracy was our state media, the Doordarshan broadcasting service. Whether it deserved the bragging is for history to decide, but before the authorisation of private television in 1991, Doordarshan held the ideals of carrying the spirit of Indian values and ambitious pursuit of truth.
You know who reminded me of Doordarshan? Shobha, the upright editor of Khabardaar News. She approaches the failed photo studio set up by protagonists Vinod and Sudhir and asks them to cover the scandalous and corrupt operations of rich politicians in the city.
Speaking of corruption, let's take a moment to admire 1980s Bombay. The film cuts to this barrage of shots and at this moment becomes a documentary, sporting wide-angle and top angle shots (show clip). Oh yeah, but it also tells us about the Darkness underneath. Sudhir and Vinod's investigations reveal how the city's values are exploited, while all the citizens really see is the progress. The film superimposes silhouettes of corrupt men over this progress. Thus, we as viewers can't ignore the truth of Mumbai anymore, all thanks to Vinod and Sudhir.
*God, it's tough to address this part*
**Chapter 2 - The Betrayal**
Shobha is a righteous reporter. Shobha hires Vinod and Sudhir to dare against the rigged dark underbelly of Bombay's real estate.
But Shobha has a price. Shobha can be bought.
Unfortunately, "Khabardaar News" is a red flag that was staring at us, but we failed to catch it. Shobha is a sensational tabloid editor. She claims she cares about the truth, but all she wants is fame in the name of taking down politicians.
Thus, this Doordarshan symbol of righteous reporter shows her true colours when money comes in the way. This shatters our innocent protagonists.
During the Emergency period in India's late 1970s, it is said that the furious government took control of Doordarshan and turned it into state propaganda to monitor public opinion.
This makes us ultimately realise that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is NOT a slapstick comedy. There. I said it.
Chapter 3 - Mahabharat
I can't come up with a better illustration for this than considering the funniest scene of the film: the infamous Mahabharata play scene.
Towards the third act, our actors enter an amateur theatre play where the pivotal Gambling scene of the Mahabharata is playing. In the original text, Draupadi, the female protagonist of the epic is humiliated and disrobed by the antagonist Kauravas. But instead of this, Sudhir and Vinod turn D'Mello's dead corpse into Draupadi, whilst themselves turning into the Kauravas, and thus begins onstage chaos, which turns next level with the entry of medieval emperor Akbar into the Ancient Epic.
But besides making us laugh, what this scene really reveals to us is yet another layer of unconscious reality. Let's go back to Doordarshan. Doordarshan's entertainment consisted of series that endured in the hearts of the masses, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, and B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat. The popularity of these series was so high that the audiences even loved playing the titular roles.
When you'd sit down to watch Ramayan, the ad breaks would show the actress playing Sita, Deepika Chikhalia buying Nirma Detergent Soap. This was the unconscious reality of the Indian Mind.
Is it a sin to call Jaane bhi do Yaaro a slapstick comedy?
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