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Masaan, Neeraj Ghaywan’s debut that has been sweeping accolades on its journey from Cannes to India, is a very salt of the earth kind of film. Set in present-day Varanasi, the film explores small-town existential angst, through its deeply layered characters. But Masaan (meaning crematorium) has dealt with life’s pathos with a nuance so textured that makes it universally resonant.
Masaan traces the story of two people, both of whom embody higher social aspirations in a modernising India, despite the societal barriers of gender and caste. For Devi Pathak (Richa Chadha), who is fiercely independent, a sexual encounter gone wrong proves to be her undoing. Yet Devi, the ironically named fallen woman, is neither afraid nor sorry for her actions. She helps her father, Sanskrit scholar Vidyadhar Pathak (played by the supremely effective Sanjay Mishra), pay off the corrupt cop and sets her sights on breaking free from the small town’s social mores: “Jitni chhoti jagah utni chhoti soch (the smaller the place the smaller its thinking)”.
Vicky Kaushal as Deepak Choudhary, on the other hand, belongs to the Dom community which cremates the dead at the Varanasi ghats. He falls in love with Shaalu Gupta (Shweta Tripathi), an upper caste girl and dreams of the day he can have his happily-ever-after, he with his civil engineering job and she with her Nida Fazli, Bashir Badr and Mirza Ghalib poetry. Their romance is giddily refreshing, complete with Facebook messages, bike rides and a cutesy boat ride on the Sangam (in Allahabad). While Deepak’s friends remind him that “Ladki upper caste hai bhai, zyada senti-venti mat hona (the girls belongs to the upper caste, don’t get to sentimental about her),” an unexpected and blunt twist of fate leaves him (and us) reeling.
Devi and Deepak’s lives are separate, but are about the same struggle. While the parallel stories unfold, the connections between them never seem forced because they are united thematically. Vicky and Nikhil Sahni as Jhonta, a gregarious kid who works for Vidyadhar, are the revelations of the film, their luminous performances lighting up the often-dark film. The incredible casting by Mukhesh Chhabra is perfect to a T, with even the extended cast chipping in wonderful performances.
Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi as the inter-caste couple in love
The ghats of Varanasi have been romanticised with great restraint by cinematographer Avinash Arun Dhaware, who has already proved his mettle this year with the sublime Killa. The main track, Mann kasturi re, is beautifully shot, the yellow of the ghats and its shadows stark against the onyx river. The music by fusion greats Indian Ocean has their decidedly nostalgic and wonderful earthy sounds with a lilting lyrical quality.
The narrative arc is well-shaped, with a deft economy of form that ties together loose ends neatly. Ghaywan and editor Nitin Baid have expertly avoided the time-killing pointlessness that exemplifies most Bollywood fare. A lot is left unsaid; wisdom is in the story’s telling silences. The script’s perceptive and well-thought realism comes from screenwriter Varun Grover’s own years spent growing up in Lucknow and then studying at the Banaras Hindu University. Even scenes that could come across as corny or melodramatic end up becoming so much more, and that is all credit to the director, as well as the actors who bring such authenticity to their roles.
With an ambient narrative that pronounces no grand judgements, Masaan is a film truly reflective of our ephemeral times, and the tussle between the individual and the society. And yet, the sense of closure it leaves you with lets your heavy heart rest lightly.
This small budget film has everything going for it — an authentic script, technical brilliance and career-defining performances. After Court earlier this year, Masaan is a testament to the rising power of the indie film industry. If there is one thing you do this weekend, go watch this (poetry on) film.
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