[Reader-list] Celluloid and Compact Disks in Punjab

[daljit ami]

  IZZAT: dishonouring life

Imagine you have been invited to see a newly made film in a private circle by the maker. What sort of questions can you ask? Would you ask for the caste composition of the team? I, personally, dislike such questions. But that is the question I asked, for I say the situation left me choiceless. So I asked, and the response was very quick, firm and certain. The respondents were the producer, the director and the co-producer. The reply was that not only they but their whole cast is from Jat Sikh (upper caste sikhs) background. The answer was not unexpected but certainly left me even more uncomfortable. The other questions in my mind were about their understanding of women, minorities, patriarchy, masculinity and caste equations. I could not ask these questions and choose to understand these issues from the film.
Gurchet Chitarkar has remained usual name in my earlier postings. He initiated the trend of short films in Punjabi and is still supposed to be the most successful entrepreneur. His recent film is IZZAT, a real story. He was in my city, Chandigarh. His colleagues invited me and I was quick in response as I was desperate to interact with Gurchet. I have talked to him on phone and had a short meeting earlier but never got the chance to talk to him at length.
To begin with, an off the cuff remark: this film is technically (cinematographically) better compared to his earlier films. With fewer continuity jerks and less jerky editing it can be said that this team is growing in grammatical aspects. Three different locations have been used whereas rest of his films are based in single locations. The transitions of the film are based on stock shots of location and nature (sunrise and sunset) which looks awkward. 
I will focus on the content of the film. Like rest of his films this film is also placed in Malwa region. The film starts with a happy family of parents having two sons and a youngest daughter. The daughter (Channi) is the most loved in the family. This upper caste family lives in a big house supposed to be of any big landlord family. The brothers have a lower caste friend (Gurmukh) whom they treat as a family member. 
An upper caste youth had an abusive interaction with lower caste women. The exchange of chosen gendered and castist remarks crosses every limit of decency, after he teased them. The village panchayat punishes that youth after similar exchange in their presence. Gurmukh and Channi are in love with each other and they run away with jewellery and cash. Channi’s parents commit suicide and younger brother got killed in a fight with villagers when they tease him about the elopement of Channi. The elder brother got the revenge and landed in jail.
Channi was sold in Uttar Pradesh. A Hindi speaking well dressed woman (pimp) living in huts has purchased her for two lakh rupees and sell her to earn one lakh rupees as profit. Why such profit making business is being run from huts? The pimp let a customer rape her in her hut. The door of the hut has prominently written 786 on it. These alphabets are prominent characters as compared to the living matter moving around. 
The return of Channi from that place has been punctuated with two more rapes. One of the rapists is temple priest. What better treatment one can expect after questioning the patriarchical norms? Her journey is full of taunts, teachings and remorse emanating from patriarchal values and masculine hegemony. Her repentances forcefully endorse these values. The only ‘help’ she receives after sermons of patriarchal honour of males is a compulsive favour from a baptised Sikh.
The youth punished for eve teasing exposes Gurmukh to fulfil his ‘moral responsibility’. This exposure leads to a jailbreak and subsequent murder of Gurmukh. The lower caste women welcome Channi with all sorts of explitives; honour, moral, social and class issues. Channi losses her mental balance and in the last shot she is being stoned by children. The background scores states that honour is ‘ones lost for ever’ matter and ‘impure women can’t be purified’ and so on. 

After this film would you like to ask the question I asked violating my own ethics?

Daljit Ami

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