Rocky Climb - Manjhi The Mountain Man : The Bugle's Verdict

It’s quite sad that the biopic honouring a man such as Dashrath Manjhi should leak online almost 3 weeks prior to release. That being said, Manjhi released this friday, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the eponymous lead. Fans of the actor, that have grown in explosive numbers, especially since the Gangs of Wasseypur duology, will be thronging the theatres regardless of the online leak. For all others, let’s see how much justice this movie does to the history of the Mountain Man.

Story (pocket book version) – Dashrath Manjhi was a labourer whose lady-love, Faguniya (Falguni Devi), died upon slipping off a mountain that stood in between his village and the closest town, Wazirganj, thereby reducing the reach of medical facilities. Her death sets the man off on a mission to make a road through the mountain, that would eventually shorten the travel distance between the two places from 70 kms to a mere 15 kms, over a period of 22 years.

If you’d remember the Gangs of Wasseypur films, then you’d recall the slick, smooth portrayal of the average Bihari, so easy-flowing and so natural, that one is completely lost, pleasantly, despite all the abuses and the gore and the excessive depiction of cannabis. It’s a wonder why the same can’t be said for any other film set in Bihar. Manjhi joins the league of the said category of movies, where every line of the script, every joke, the sets – seem like they’re part of a high school theatre club’s setting.

Manjhi is an uphill climb through clichéd narratives, stereotypical Bihari performances and the unreasonable compulsory length of a masala Bollywood film. The reason that this is sad, in this scenario, is because Manjhi was not the run-of-the-mill masala film. Director Ketan Mehta’s project was ambitious and could have told, very beautifully, the story of the man who broke down a mountain for the sake of his love. Instead, the film tells all sorts of stories, addresses all sorts of side issues, while beating around the bush with the epicentre of the film i.e. MANJHI. There are sub-plots within sub-plots about untouchability, naxalites, economic conditions of Bihar, and all other things you’d associate with rural Bihar, that after a point, viewer’s start asking, “All that’s fine, but where does Manjhi figure in all of this?”

Maybe the filmmakers had intended to show that Manjhi accomplished heavy, despite all sorts of wacky odds: but then again, they failed at it, resulting into a movie that is more of a political satire rather than a biopic. Some hopes were vested in the people playing the satirical Biharis, with a powerful cast comprising Prashant Narayanan (Murder 2 fame), Tigmanshu Dhulia, Pankaj Tripathi (Sultan in GOW), etc. but even their efforts were belittled owing to the heavily dragging themes that bring nothing that may be beneficially required for telling Manjhi’s story. 

The only saving grace to this over-burdened tale, are the leading pair – Nawaz and Apte. Nawazuddin is a visual treat. He, though playing around in the same ballpark that his performances have been stereotyped into, manages to whip up something new, as always, further stepping up his game from his laudable performance in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. His version of Manjhi is correctly measured and overflowing with emotions at all times – whether it’s his love for wife Faguniya, or his verging-on-insane obsession and love-hate relationship with the mountain.

Radhika Apte does well as Faguniya, the humble wife and the ultimate catalyst to the village’s development at the hands of her doting husband.    

Verdict – 2 ½ out of 5 stars

“Shaandaar! Jabarjast!! Jindaabaad!!!” - the comment doesn't apply to the movie as well as it might to Nawaz.

Manjhi, along with all its distractions and side events, passes by like a medium paced train on a rocky terrain, with the Mountain man’s story flashing by at random intervals, lost somewhere amongst all the hullabaloo. Truth be told, few would have been able to tolerate this rocky journey, if it hadn’t been for Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s humbly grand presence, and the curiosity to know the tale behind the Mountain Man.