Masaan is a 2015 Indian drama movie directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and written by brilliant comedian, lyricist and writer Varun Grover. Winning several awards like at the Cannes Film Festival, National Award for Best Debut film of a Director, and many more, this movie will tickle your conscience and make you think a bit deeper than before. The movie revolves around the Holy river, The Ganga, and all the lives associated with it. The movie covers two discrete storylines, which look seemingly unconnected and different with each other, until they will converge into one just how Ganga does.
The first story is of Devi Pathak played by Richa Chadda, who is caught being “indecent” with a boy named Piyush by the police. According to Indian society and culture, this act of getting intimate/physical before marriage is punishable and frowned upon. After getting caught red-handed, Piyush locks himself in the bathroom and commits suicide due to the fear of facing his family and society out the door. Meanwhile, Devi is trapped in the case. The policemen blackmails Devi that he will leak her indecent video and forces her father into bribing a huge amount of money to get out of the mess.
Devi keeps struggling to accept her faith and to move on in life. Scared of the societal accusation, Devi thrives to discover her own worth. While Devi’s father works at the cremation Ghats and struggles to make the ends meet, Devi searches for her own financial stability. This story questions the belief of how premarital physical relationship is frowned upon in the Indian culture and also touches on the social topic of blackmailing someone into bribing by a government employee..
The second story covers the life of a boy named Deepak Kumar played by National Award winning young actor Vicky Kaushal and his love story. Deepak also belongs to Dom community who makes their living family by burning funeral pyres at the cremation Ghats of Holy Ganga. Deepak falls in love with Shaalu played by Shweta Tripathi, who is an upper caste Hindu girl. The character of Deepak deals with the typical Indian household mentality, where we believe that the next generation should carry on the family business. Deepak tries his best to find a job, so as to get rid of his family’s occupation and get closer to Shaalu’s approval as her perfect match.
Though the ending of Deepak’s love story will be least anticipated by viewers, it leaves an impact on everyone. Both the Deepak’s and Devi’s story converges when they both get rid of their hurdles and meet near the Ganges.
Masaan is a raw portray of society and its cruelties. Just like the river Ganga, life is never stagnant. No matter what happens, life goes on. The river also depicts the cycle of birth, life, and death and how everything is connected and how everything happens for a reason. The societal evils are also portrayed in their true sense in the movie. This movie provides a subtle taste of the strictness and rigidity of society.
“Masaan” deserves a place on your bucket list!
Written By : Sneha Baidya
Editor and Team Lead : Ashutosh Sharma
About The Author(s)
Chemistry major with self-proclaimed good taste in Books and Music.