Movie Review: Do Bigha Zameen

THE STORY

For someone who knows a bit about village life or has read Premchand, the title itself should give away some of the plot. The movie is about a farmer Shambhu Mahato and his family. In a country like India, some things are intangible though technically tangible—like jewellery, home, land, cow, etc. People never sell despite the most difficult situations.

“Do Bigha Zameen” starts with a village setting. The farmers are singing their folklore and enjoying in the rain. They are blessed with rain after 2 years of drought. It is nothing less than a festival. Almost feels like the Lagaan movie song (Ghanan Ghanan) was inspired from this.

CONFLICT AND STRUGGLE

With urbanization and industrialization rapidly progressing, Shambhu’s village is not ignorant to it. A zamindar wants to buy Shambhu’s “Do Bigha Zameen” (two bighas of land) next to his own, so that he can build a factory there. He tries to strong-arm Shambhu into selling his land. What follows is, I think, the story of every village where industrialization has taken place and how the family struggles in trying to protect their land.

RECOMMENDATION

Highly recommend watching the movie. The village is beautifully set up, the songs are great, and the story is well-told. It showcases the hardships you encounter. There is absolutely no glorification of poverty. Makes me appreciate the fact that only 3 generations ago, almost many families, including ours, suffered from similar situations.

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🎬 Where to watch: YouTube

Related book: रंगभूमि — प्रेमचंद