All those improbable stories Or “don’t underestimate thepower of a common man” — we do know facts!
The Indian cinema in all its aura and splendour has won our hearts. The cinema not only reflects the culture of our society but also it plays an important role in forming viewers’ mindset. Consciously or unconsciously it influences us. Often we get so engrossed and overwhelmed by the story that we generally overlook the minute details and concentrate only on what the filmmakers want us to see. We believe in everything that the filmmakers tell us. We willingly suspend our disbelief and set aside all our doubts. We love to let go and move with the flow. While at the same time the Indian cinema has an emotional impact on us and makes us contemplate and question.
We know movies take liberties with certain aspects of life, be it for aesthetic reasons or to make them appear larger than life. That’s where the appeal lies. But does that excuse the filmmakers to simply ignore historical, geographical, legal or established facts and logic to bring us moments that don’t really make any sense at allIJ The article is taking in cognizance of a few examples of the Indian cinema which are all embedded with factual mistakes that render them either impossible or illogical. We are not taking into account the unrealistic things shown in the Hindi cinema on purpose.
Recently in the romantic comedy, Tanu weds Manu Returns, directed by Anand l Rai, we come across a major legal flaw which happens to be the climax of the plot. Crossing the `100-crore business within the first week of its release, the movie was praised for Kangana Ranaut’s performance in double role. The movie focuses on the troubled marriage between Tanu (Ranaut) and Manu (Madhavan). As the story moves forward Manu sends a legal notice to Tanu through his lawyer, which Tanu does not respond to.
later the lawyer appointed by Tanu befriends her and falls in love with her. As the plot would demand, the well-wisher lawyer sends Manu divorce papers on Tanu’s behalf without informing her. As the story develops, Manu falls in love with Datto, a Tanu lookalike. After a lot of emotional upheaval Tanu signs the divorce papers to allow Manu to tie the nuptial knot with Datto. All these incidents happen in quick successions.
People who have ever faced Indian judiciary system are well aware that it’s not easy for a man/woman to get divorce if it is not mutual. Even if the couple does agree to divorce each other on mutual consent, divorce cannot be granted before a year of separation. After spending one year in separation minimum two court appearances are necessary for a mutual divorce. First a joint petition signed by both the parties is filed in the court, also known as the first motion petition. In this first motion petition the statements of both the parties are recorded and then signed on paper before the court. Then the court gives six months period of reconciliation, to allow the couple to reconsider their decision and work out the issues. Marriage is considered a sacred institution in India hence even the legal system suggests counselling and offers an opportunity to save the marriage.
This six month period is mandatory before filing second motion of petition. If after six months things are not sorted out and the petition is not withdrawn, then the parties may appear for the second motion for the final hearing after which the court may grant a divorce decree. This entire process takes at least one year in getting a mutual divorce. However, if the divorce is not mutual, there is no time limit; it may take two to twenty years or more.
But in the movie Manu is allowed to marry another woman just within a few hours of Tanu’s signing the divorce papers. In India the law doesn’t allow a divorce until and unless the clients personally present themselves before the court. Nothing like this happens in the movie. Perhaps all these legal hassles if considered would have marred the dramatic effects of the plot. True, every minute detail cannot be shown but building up a story on improbable plot could have been avoided. After all getting information about anything and everything is just a click away.
Similarly Gardish (1993), a Hindi movie directed by Priyadarshan, for which, Jackie Shroff was nominated the Filmfare Award for the Best Actor , and Dimpla Kapadia for the Best Supporting Actress, exemplifies how cinema often weaves false notions of dreams even if implicitly.
In the movie, Shiva Sathe (Jackie Shroff) is the son of havaldar Purshotam Sathe (Amrish Puri), whose only dream is to see Shiva become a police inspector. The entire movie revolves around this dream and their desire to fulfil it. But as destiny and chances would have their own say, Shiva is caught in some unavoidable circumstances and coincidently gets embroiled in a deadly chain of fights with Billa Jilani, a criminal, which jeopardises his dream.
Despite the movie being a personal favourite we cannot ignore the minor factual error that the movie portrayed. Shiva is supposed to be preparing for a direct recruitment of Inspector in Maharashtra Police. Surprisingly, there is no such exam in any State of India, which recruits inspectors in State police or even in paramilitary. Sub-inspectors or Assistant Sub-inspectors are recruited directly. later on such people are promoted to the post of inspector.
Though we love to dream big and getting instant promotion would not be a bad idea but giving out wrong messages to public is perhaps not at all a great idea especially when the plot doesn’t get affected anyhow. Mentioning Sub-Inspector instead of Inspector would not have made
a difference in the story. But the director did not bother to get the facts corrected!
Sooryavansham (1999) starring Amitabh Bachchan in double role is another instance where the ignorance of the filmmakers gets highlighted. The movie is praised as one of the best performance of Amitabh Bachchan since his comeback in Hindi cinema after 1997.
The movie portrays Bachchan as a revered Thakur known for his benevolence and justice. Heera (Bachchan in double role), an illiterate son of Thakur saab marries Radha, an educated IAS aspirant against the wishes of both the families. Heera and Radha get ousted and struggle to survive.
In the due course of time Radha resumes her IAS preparations along with teaching Heera. While Heera succeeds as a businessman, Radha becomes the district collector.
Interestingly after getting selected as an IAS officer, Radha becomes the district collector of the same district she was residing in. Here some important facts about IAS officers need to be addressed. First, one cannot become a district collector directly after getting selected in the civil service. A newly recruited IAS officer undergoes training for the first two years. After that, s/he is posted as a sub-divisional officer in charge of a revenue subdivision in a district. After spending 2-3 years, s/he gets posted as Additional District Magistrate (ADM) to get acquaintance of developmental administration. Only after this, s/he can hope to be posted as a DC in a district, and that too in a comparatively smaller district.
A negligible percentage of such officers find themselves as a DC after the aforementioned period. It also depends on the state/cadre they are posted in. Further, a conference of Chief Secretaries held in 1976 recommended a minimum experience of 6 to 8 years to be appointed as a DC.
Another issue which emerges is the fact that Radha becomes the collector of the same district where they were residing in. According to the rule of civil service a person cannot become district collector of his own hometown. The primary reason obviously is to rectify any possibility of a bias arising out of being posted in the home district/town. Such bias could affect the performance of duties of the civil servant in several ways. For example, an officer of the IAS, in the capacity of the district magistrate, has a powerful position and can influence things in favour of his/her close relatives.
Similarly, the district collector/magistrate might influence the recruitment process for Government employment, for which the selection process takes place at the district level. On the similar lines, a Superintendent of Police (I.P.S.) might refuse to get a case registered against someone who has committed a crime and is close to him. S/he might also undertake harassment of the adversaries of his/her near and dear ones. The rule is not just applicable on high profile services like IAS/ IPS, etc, but as well as to simple services as that of police constable, patwari.
No doubt cinema is an important medium of communication. Since Indian cinema is travelling the world, it represents the historical, social, political and cultural ideologies of the country to wider audience.
The filmmakers should realise that their ignorance would create a distorted image of our nation and its legal system. Besides, cinema has the potential to influence masses. Considering the potential to misguide in the dissemination of misinformation, filmmakers should exhibit a greater sense of responsibility when creating impressions that might pass on the wrong message to masses. A little research would not spoil the fun!
(Anish Gupta and Aaleya Giri teach Economics and English respectively at Delhi University. They can be reached at pioneer.article@gmail.com. Views expressed here are personal.)