Movie Review : Antardwand

Rating : 4/5
Genre : Drama
Year : 2010
Running time : 1 hr 48 min.
Director : Sushil Rajpal
Cast : Vinay Pathak, Raj Singh Chowdhary (aka Raja Chowdhary), Akhilendra Mishra, Jaya Bhattacharya, Himanshi, Swati Sen
Kid rating : PG-15

Netflix offered up this bizarre summary for the film – you’ll know what I mean when you look it up. I decided to watch it nonetheless (I’m brave like that). And ah, sweet rewards for those who venture, and those who read their blogs; the movie is fabulous. Not like bust out your dancing shoes fabulous, but a measured, this-actually-has-a-story-line with a great cast and direction kind of fab.

Raghuveer (Chowdhary) is a college student from Bihar. He studies in Delhi where he has a Punjabi girlfriend Sia (Himanshi), he wants to marry. Educated, smart and handsome Raghu is considered a very good catch in rural Bihar where his orthodox parents live, and they are being approached by several rich and landed families beseeching them to select their daughters as their future daughter-in-law. So, when he travels back to his small town to tell them of Sia, they disapprove of his “modern” choice and expressly forbid him from seeing her again. Morose, Raghu decides to leave for Delhi, but finds himself inexplicably kidnapped. When he wakes, he is stupefied and incredulous of the ridiculous demands made by the kidnappers.

Antardwand, literally “the inner war”, presents to us the social structure of rural society – landed feudal lords are the law here and they do as they wish. It is only with contacts and “pull” that Raghu’s father can make a few enquiries against his powerful kidnappers, and even that is not enough, such is their might. Change and modernity have a very hard time seeping into this hinterland, and rigid societal mores keep young and restless minds locked in by physical force and subtle brain-washing.

The film left me thinking about the utter powerlessness of the female characters in the film. Most were wealthy women, well-fed and well-clothed, but had little else. They were mothers, wives and dutiful daughters, kept in line by brute force, and by customs that dictated total dedication to domestic duties and homely lives. The male, husband, father or brother is master here, regardless of the tortures he visits on you. Not only do the elder women believe in this, they also allow their daughters to be railroaded into this oppressive cycle of subjugation. The only woman in the film, who actually had any choices was Delhi girl Sia, and even her choices were limited and restricted her ultimately to the Big Fat Indian Goal : to get married.

The men were no less. The feudal tyrant here (Akhilendra Mishra) runs his household on terror. His word is law. His son does his bidding and his daughter (a wonderfully cast Swati Sen) who is allowed a college education is abruptly told to stop going to college because she is getting married in two weeks. Even Raghu’s educated father (Vinay Pathak), exhorting his son to take the Civil Services Exam and concentrate on his studies is not far removed from this ; he brushes off his wife’s opinion like so much dust, derides his son’s girlfriend as a whore, and barters for his supremely eligible son’s hand in marriage with prospective rich in-laws.

Antardwand won the Nation Award for Best Film, and rightly so. The cast is superb, although they were mostly unknowns; I only recognized Vinay Pathak, Akhilendra Mishra and Jaya Bhattacharya. Raja Chowdhary especially, is impressive as Raghuveer and has appeared in a few more films like Gulaal and Black Friday. The film focuses on a social issue, and is based on true events. And when I say this to people their eyes begin to glaze over in anticipation of a boring, “arty”, preachy film. This is none of that; it is a suspenseful fictional drama, and quite unpredictable. A strong directorial vision allows the film to run along at a pretty good pace; I was engrossed.

This is a wonderfully told tale and a very good watch; it is a pity that more people do not know of it. Highly recommended.

Kidwise : There is some explicit violence, but the subject matter of the film makes it unsuitable for younger children.