Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Bajrangi Bhaijaan, some missing points

Bajrangi Bhaijaan has been hailed by the assorted critics for its good storyline and for several good points in its plot and sub plots. It is often seen that despite adverse comments by almost all critics, some films do well because of the qualities that are liked by common film viewers. In this case, since Bajrangi Bhaijaan has been appreciated by critics too, the box office success of this film was assured.

However, I have observed that almost all critics have failed to comment on a crucial issue highlighted in the film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and I am trying to bring attention to the issue of human trafficking, particularly the heinous crime of child trafficking. I am sure the cinema viewers would have seen that under pressure from his would be father in law (sasur ji), the film's hero at one point almost hands over the child to human traffickers but good sense prevails and the possibility of a bad situation emerging is thankfully avoided. Thanks God.

Besides, everyone would have thought that the girl's mother is planning to come to Delhi for seeking some kind of medical treatment for the mute girl but all that she does in the film is to visit the famous dargah of a pious saint. Although nothing wrong in visiting a dargah to seek divine blessings for welfare of one's child but doing only that much is not enough and one should always try to seek good medical advice too. It is also difficult to digest that the cross border train was not adequately guarded and that the child could get down from it without being noticed. Also, how and why was a baby goat there on the railway tracks at that time in the middle of the night is not easy to understand.  

Film is being appreciated and beautiful comments are coming forth on the film from the other side of the border but it does not show that there is not a single person in that country who does not hate it. Although the motive of the film is to promote amity across the borders and it does seem to have done well in this regard as seen from its commercial success but they could have shown at least one or a few zealots who dart at Bhaijaan on seeing that he is an alien and has entered their county illegally. Off course, the good Samaritans would come forward to shout down the idiotic zealots and the hero then goes on fulfilling his mission uninterrupted.  This type of portrayal would have been realistic.

Lastly, in the last scene of the film, people gather in large numbers to see off the hero and are shown as forcibly opening the gates at the border post (named Narowal which actually exists) and they are able to ensure that the hero goes off to his country unharmed. More strange is the idea that the border guards go by the peoples' wishes. Easier said (imagined) than done. Still more strange is the part that one security services officer decides to defy the orders of his superior and escorts the hero to the border post and has the guts to argue with the border guards to let the man go across the border. This would not be possible even in an utopian land, forget about it happening in Pakistan of these times.

Also, I feel bad that the film makers could not think of arranging a meeting of the hero with the mother (and father) of the child. If they could think of the divine or medical miracle happening since the child does manage to get a voice and calls out Mama...Mama to Bajrangi Bhaijaan but the scene involving some kind of Rakhi being tied by her mother to our hero would have been wonderful. Imagine a scene involving the tearful but happy mother saying thanks and goodbye to her child's saviour. I am sure this would have done wonders. Hence, I fail to understand as to why the film's makers could not contrive a scene featuring the girl, her family, and the hero in one frame.

Guys, let me add that I did like the film, as it is, immensely, and my comments above are a result of a genuine interest in the film. Let there be more films like this and I wish the borders would actually truely vanish some day in future, may be it will happen someday long after the film is archived.

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