Vignette of Urban India: Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

So I just saw Kiran Rao’s “Dhobi Ghat” this weekend. I loved it because it was very poignant. I loved the colors, sounds, and smells she manages to capture through her magical lens (read: grey, cool monsoon rains, the hustle and bustle of life in a crowded bazaar area, the riot of colors and sense of height at Ganesh Visarjan, and the modern style of arty Mumbai). I loved the skilful way she wove four stories together and most importantly, I loved the way she gently caught the viewer’s attention and took us on a small, almost insignificant trip through each character’s life, yet managed to leave us with a sense that we had heard a good story.

One thing that stood out to me was Prateik’s character.  As Munna, the dhobi, who lives by the railway tracks in a slum, I was shocked (because I was not aware) and happy by his aspirations and “lifestyle.”  Munna runs away from Bihar to seek a better life in Mumbai.  As a young adult he washes clothes and delivers them to middle and upper middle class Indians. But he wears capris, uses a mobile phone, works out in his hut, and goes to the cinema to see movies.  If you see him in real life you would never guess that he lives in a hutment or that he bathes out in the open by the tracks.  Munna also moonlights as a rat catcher (yes, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation actually pays enterprising and nimble citizens “per tail caught” so as to get rid of this menace).  He embodies the new Indian: hard working, very ambitious, and optimistic.

And you see many Munnas around you.  In the cities at least.  You can sense them. You can feel their spirit. I’m talking about the national pride and economic prosperity gripping India. I can’t comment on Bharat, as I have not seen real rural India enough to comment.  You see it in the mobile usage patterns. Everyone, including the bhaji/sabzi walla has cell phones.  You see it in the real estate (yes we can debate on whether it is a bubble or not) and the financial ads dispelling investment advice.  Everyone wants to invest.

I remember Gurcharan Das’s words when he aptly summarizes the social revolution of “making money” that is sweeping India, since “making money has become increasingly respectable.”[1]  Compared to the Gandhian values of austerity in past decades, modern Indians harbor a common aspiration of bettering their lives and giving their children a higher standard of life.  I think it’s a good thing. The Munnas of India may take ten or even twenty years to realize all their dreams (read: house, children in good schools, a vehicle), but at least they are trying.

On a side note, the one thing that surprised me about the movie was its portrayal of communication between the different socio-economic classes. For better or worse, communication between different classes follows clearly established patterns:  employer-employee, city dweller – villager, more educated – less educated.  In Dhobi Ghat, Rao challenges this as she shows a young, upper class, American educated photographer (Monica Dogra) develop and enjoy a friendship with a slum-dwelling, uneducated dhobi (Munna).  I don’t know if this is realistic, if it is a portrayal of the future, or if it is just part of the story line. 

Anyway, I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is an Indophile, to a nostalgic NRI, to an urban Indian, and to any others who appreciate a well-made, short film.

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[1] Gurcharan Das, “The Respect They Deserve.” Time Magazine Asia, 2004, http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501041206/two_indias_vpt_das.html accessed 10 October 2010.