After waiting for 3 whole months, when ‘Homebound’ was finally screened, it was described as ‘hostile’ having to undergo the editorial scalpel ELEVEN times. There were extensive modifications where caste slurs were muted, and politically resonant dialogues were re-worked.
Funny that it doesn’t matter if jokes/ innuendos/slurs about women are used as punch lines; or history is falsified in propaganda movies. Just shows how art is being tempered to insult our intellectual capacity and our mental bandwidth as audiences to analyze and judge for ourselves.
But the most pathetic truth is the ‘Disclaimer’- ‘All characters are fictional and any resemblance to any character is purely coincidental’. That proves how art is also handcuffed with a condition just to have the luxury of being passed.
‘Homebound’ is a true story about two friends that gained global recognition after the article entitled ‘Taking Amrit Home’ in New York Times, with a photograph of one friend Mohammed Ayub, cradling a feverish and dehydrated Amit Kumar on the side of a highway, went viral.
-It is a story about a friendship that perseveres while dealing with the worst adversities between two boys and a reflection of our society.
-It is a story set against the backdrop of THE most unpredictable and uncertain times of our lives in the 21st Century- the Covid-19.
-It is a story of how wide eyed aspirations are met with ground realities, where responsibilities outweigh individual aspirations.
-It is a story of the struggle for the survival of the fittest in the law of a cruel jungle that has no place for those who do not have the courage or the willingness to persevere.
-It is the story of families weighed down by the responsibilities of debt and daily expenses, and of the ‘chosen’ ones who can make a change in their family.
-It is the story of two youngsters, who are not only judged by the work that they do but by the surname that they inherit.
-It is the story of those who do not have the luxury to ask for what is their right- the dignity and the opportunity that is snatched away in instances where only the brave will remain to tell the tale.
Movies, rather than provoking arguments, should make you aware of the problems in your country; because if you aren’t aware you cannot fix them. They should educate you to start a conversation, because it’s easier to discuss with logic than with lectures.
So watch ‘Homebound’ for its powerful message.
But before you do, dump the tags of religion and caste and come out of your secure and bubble wrapped privileges of Roti, Kapda, Makan and Education, to discover how most people in our country live on a daily basis. If you are a member that benefits from society, you should also yearn to give back. So instead of contributing to the ignorance, or worse still, spreading the propaganda of hatred and lies, just BE AWARE! That is the least you can do.
The film is achingly beautiful and equally painful to watch because it holds up a mirror to a nation whose indifference and hostility towards its poor and the most marginalized citizens is all too real. It shakes the conscience of those who are genetically wired to pass heartless comments, without realizing how hurtful they are. It poetically captures the strains we have in ourselves as individuals and as a society of normalizing bigotry.
The harsh truth is that struggle and injustice are slowly becoming the norm rather than the exception. So you can’t help but be torn apart emotionally by the bond of friendship that is showcased through the brilliant performances of the two young actors. A bond that screams that connection is also a form of resistance!
If you are wondering why filmmakers make such depressing, compelling and thought provoking movies, it’s because of the battles that a director like Neeraj Ghaywan has to deal with- just to tell the story of his own people in its raw and true source. Ghaywan demonstrates once again (after Masaan) that he’s not just a filmmaker. He is our conscience. And no one likes their guilty consciences to be aired in public. So now you know why the film failed at the box office.
Even if the theatres were crowded, not everyone can understand the ‘desperation’ that pervades the atmosphere in the film because Ghaywan has infused his identity and lived experience into his cinema. He shows us how truth has been camouflaged beneath the layers of distraction and illusions which make us unaware. But that does not mean that the problems don’t exist. The very fact that it took 30 years for Neeraj Ghaywan to openly identify himself as a Dalit speaks for itself.
‘Social Distancing’ and ‘Virus’ are terms that became popular only after Covid. But it has been there for nearly 2000 years because some people are tested positive- not by any kit but by birth. But here’s the kicker. The virus was never inside a person. It was and is inside the mind of the ‘person’ that has distanced you.
So the film is not ‘anti-establishment’ but ‘pro-humanity’. And we the audience have to discover the truth through silence, restraint and compassion. Being aware is the first step, followed by being a good human. But this is also possible, only if you are willing to try.