FOCUS NATION Nikhil Gajendragadkar
The film shows how the capitalist ‘system’ swallows everything it wants. In fact, everything has a price tag, except for human life
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Memorable Hindi film ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ has its setting in Bengal in the late 40’s or early 50’s. In a small village, farmer Shambu Mahato lives with his wife, son and an aged father. The village is hit by a severe drought. Finally it receives rain and the villagers rejoice. But Shambu gets a rude shock when the zamindar (feudal landlord) tries to take over his land
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Land is a contentious subject ever since human beings started to ‘claim’ ownership over it. Industrialization and urbanization added complexity to this issue. Land acquisition Bill is now a hot topic. In this context, it is surprising that hardly anybody thought of a classic film which has handled the subject of land and its effect on human life in a magnificent way.
‘Development’ is a tricky word and concept. It has various shades of meaning. Is it about development of mind or soul of a person? Or is it something else? The most common meaning is ‘building’ something — dams, factories, houses, roads etc. It is also called ‘creation of assets’. But whom do these belong to? This question leads to the other side of this ‘development’ story, which may mostly be tragic.
The Indian economy once described as ‘closed’ was ‘opened’ in the early 90’s by the then central government. The move was to attract more investment, both foreign and domestic, for development of the nation. This liberalisation, it is said, created massive demand for land in India from the mid 90s. Was it really so? The British rulers had created a law to acquire land way back in 1894. When the British government took or captured anybody’s land, or if any other entity did so, law justified that action and made it look ‘legal’.
A memorable Hindi film ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ tells one such story. The setting was Bengal (or West Bengal) in the late 40’s or early 50’s. In a small village, farmer Shambu Mahato lives with his wife, son and an aged father. The village is hit by a severe drought for a couple of years. Finally it receives rain and the villagers rejoice. But Shambu gets a rude shock when the zamindar (feudal landlord) tries to take over his land. Shambu holds mere ‘Do Bigha’ (two bighas – two-third of an acre) land but that is all he and his family has, their only source of livelihood. He refuses to part with his ancestral land.
The cunning zamindar then asks Shambu to repay his debt in just one day if he is keen on keeping his land. Further, as per Shambu’s calculation, he owes Rs 65 to the zamindar, but is told that he actually has to pay Rs 235, a very large sum in those days. It is abundantly clear that the zamindar and his accountant have tricked Shambu, like many other gullible farmers. Even the court orders Shambu to repay the money over a period of three months. To earn that princely amount and save his land, he is left with no option but to go to the big city, Calcutta (now Kolkata) with his son.
While Shambu becomes a rickshaw (cart for passengers) puller, his son tries to help him by polishing shoes in the street. Soon they realise that the city is as merciless as the zamindar. (The film was distributed outside India titled ‘Calcutta- The Cruel City.) Shambu and his son face many hardships hoping to save enough money to get hold of their land again. But the situation turns from bad to worse. They lose all the money in treatment of Shambu and his wife. Eventually, his wife dies and Shambu returns to see a factory being built upon his land. He has lost the struggle.
This is not an old story; it is even more relevant today. ‘Do Bigha Zamin’, directed by Bimal Roy, is a classic film inspired by the Italian Neo Realism. The story was written by Salil Choudhury, the great music director, who has also composed music for this film. Hrishikesh Mukherjee had written the screenplay and edited it. Bimal Roy touches the very core of human nature in the film, which is not just about a small piece of land, but the very existence of poor people. The film shows how the capitalist ‘system’ swallows everything it wants. In fact, everything has a price tag, except for human life.
An excellent script and great, naturalistic performance by Balraj Sahni as Shambu made the film memorable. In particular, the rickshaw chase scene is one of the finest in world cinema, where top quality acting and editing have culminated to create a sense of tragedy. However, it is not the tragedy of a Shambu but millions like him. It portrays the evil system of Sahukar (private moneylender) which sucks the blood and life out of poor illiterate people. This system is in force in many parts of India including Maharashtra even today.
The scenes in Calcutta also depict the darker side of human nature. At one point, Shambu suspects his son of theft and hits him. But the boy had actually earned a little by polishing shoes to help his father save more money. The city life and tension of earning sufficient money and respect for value had made Shambu suspicious.
The film also reveals the vicious cycle of poverty-illiteracy or lack of education-exploitation and more poverty. It doesn’t stop there but throws up critical questions. Why do the zamindar and his businessmen friends want Shambu’s and others’ fertile land? Why cannot they find suitable land nearby? The answer is simple. The aim is to save money. As the farmers are debt-ridden, it becomes very easy for the zamindar to formally ‘acquire’ their land. The film was branded as one with a ‘socialist approach’ but that is wrong. It portrays the condition of poor farmers exploited by the system, and in a compassionate way.
Much before this film, Nitin Bose made a film called ‘Desher Mati’ in Bengali, literally meaning ‘Soil of the Nation’. It was titled in English as ‘Mother Land’. Legendary singer-actor KL Saigal had portrayed the protagonist. The theme of the film centered round the conflict between saving fertile land (which supports the farmers) and giving it instead to mining. Indeed, this conflict is visible in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and many other parts of the country even today. So, we can call it a ‘visionary’ film. It had largely influenced ‘Do Bigha Zamin.’
The film raised important questions about ‘development’ and its real beneficiary. Several dams and factories have been built on the land given by the farmers and small land owners. They were forced to give up their land, their home, rather everything and at the end what has happened to them? While they are called stake- holders, they end up being a neglected lot! ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ touches this very point in a poignant way: Shambu loses his land for whose ‘development’?
The film won many awards including first ‘Filmfare’ awards for ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Director’, first National Award for Best Film. ‘International Prize’ at the 7th Cannes Film Festival and an award for a film related to Social Progress at Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Undeniably, ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ is a film about the struggle and conflict taking place even today. It’s about people displaced by the ‘development’ mantra and forgotten thereafter. Sadly, we don’t remember this film anymore! — INFA