Peepli Live is a satire alright! Even with a dash of rustic humor and with a smell of grim pity thrown in for good measure. But does it manage to entertain you in its whole? No is the answer. This movie starts out well as a closer look into the plight of a farmer bogged down by impending confiscation of his land. Mixed quite well with countrified demeanour, Omkar Das (playing now famous Natha) remains constantly mystified while being coaxed by his elder brother Raghubir Yadav (playing Budhia) into suicide attempt. Pathos of this film aside, many other events in the movie make you roll with laughter but ultimately fade away after first forty five minutes or so. Humbugging of the media at its sensationalizing of the trivial, opportunistic politicians and fleecable villagers are cliche depicted and exhausted in many other satires. However, this one may be a tad better in its initial execution.Ups:
- Strong cast - does most of this movie's lifting. Raghubir, Omkar and other bunch of theatre veterans have come out with commendable performance. Apart from the main lead duo, watch out for tongue in cheek slapsticks of Dhaniya (played by Shalini Vatsa) and expletives-ridden bitchings of Amma (played by senior actress Farukh).
- Satire - Most of its satire holds, though written around a very cliched script and banal characters. A dig on media , especially senselessness of Hindi media is praiseworthy. Alongside, it breaks ground in bring down English media from its pedestal and critiquing its lust for TRPs too.
Downs:
- Script - Though tightly edited, this script failed to engage in most of its second half. Full of cliched characters, it became dull beyond the humor. Its climax became very predictable and it lived upto its predictability. Second half is unable to hold you engaged and you rest on the entertainment of the first.
- Hype - Its disrespectful towards other better productions in early 2010 to tout this as the best movie of 2010. It may be produced (and even implicitly promoted) by Aamir Khan but if you think of it, he dint have to spend more than half of proceeds from any of his TV commercials :). This was virtually no risk for him. :)
Watch it once but with tamed expectation and if you think you have no alternative in the theaters.
