Mere Pyare Prime Minister film review

Open defecation isn’t the stuff of Bollywood dreams, but that hasn’t stopped director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra from taking a robust jab at it.

Transcript

00:00Hi this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan from Gulf News Tabloid and I've just been

00:04to watch Mere Pyare Prime Minister directed by Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra.

00:14Director Mehra raises a stink about the issue of open defecation in India. It's told from

00:20the prism of an eight-year-old boy, Kanu, played by Om Kanaya and how he warns his single mother

00:27who's raped brutally when she goes to do her morning business in the break of dawn by a law

00:32enforcement officer and how he implores the Prime Minister of India to build a toilet in his Mumbai

00:39slum. Now as far as the issue is concerned it's one of the most burning issues and I have to give

00:44credit to director Mehra for driving home the point in a very straightforward but not simplistic

00:50manner. Now here's what I loved about the film. There is Om Kanaya who plays the eight-year-old

00:56Kanu. He's so enduring as this young impressionable and idealistic young child that your heart goes

01:03out to him. Along with his friends their ultimate idea of luxury is to have a toilet in their

01:09neighborhood and how they discuss how to make the dream into a reality is what the movie is

01:14all about. So some of the scenes are very stomach churning. I know that open defecation and taking

01:20a poop is not actually the stuff of Bollywood legends and it can be a bit distasteful and there

01:27are times when you feel yourself shifting uncomfortably in your seat. Does making you

01:32uncomfortable in your seat drive home the point better? Perhaps it does. You know you see yourself

01:38understanding the issue of open defecation that often leads to also it's related to the safety

01:43of women. So in a weird way we also understand the issue a lot better. There's also another part of

01:49the movie that I really enjoyed. That's the relationship between mother and son. The scenes

01:54in which the eight-year-old Kanu wins over his mother and the bond between them is beautifully

02:00showcased. But here is what didn't work for me. I think the pace of the movie in all is quite

02:06sluggish. Another scene where I had to forcibly suspend belief is when Kanu decides to go to Delhi

02:12to actually implore with the prime minister. Write him a letter saying that why his mother

02:18and his locality needs a toilet badly. How did he cut through the red tape-ism and how did he get

02:23access to such a high-profile leader? You may, it's quite dubious. You may have to suspend belief.

02:29There's another segment that makes a lot of sense. It is the tenuous romantic relationship

02:33between Anjali Patil and Nitish Wadhwa, a new actor who plays Pappu. The mature way in which

02:40they explore each other and how they confess their love for each other in a very subtle manner

02:45is quite beautifully showcased. Because you have to suspend belief, the climax isn't as

02:50rousing or overwhelming. You don't walk away from the theatre feeling the triumph of human

02:56spirits so much. Perhaps that's one of the downsides to this movie. But that shouldn't

03:01be a deal-breaker. I've gone with two out of five. For my full review, go to gulfnews.com.