‘Kapata Nataka Sutradhari’ movie assessment: Dhiraj MV debuts with a brave political satire

In Dhiraj MV’s Kapata Nataka Sutradhari, a 1000-year-old temple, recognized for producing miracles, opens solely twice a 12 months. Despite boasting such a particular temple, the fictional city Raya Bagha is a surprisingly quiet place, or relatively, it’s an ignored city, as there may be no one to look into a transgender lady’s grievance of the absence of a rest room for her, or why there is just one faculty in the whole village.

It takes a Hindu-Muslim battle for the village to come back alive. At the centre of the controversy is a Muslim man, Mohammad Ismail (performed by Dhiraj), who will get caught beneath an elephant idol. It is believed that those that crawl beneath the idol can have their needs fulfilled. The obese Ismail takes the danger of following the ritual, and will get caught beneath the idol. 

All hell breaks unfastened when he reveals his id. Naturally, persons are divided concerning the state of affairs, with one group vocal concerning the security of Ismail whereas the opposite vociferously behind the safety of the idol from destruction.

Kapata Nataka Sutradhari conveys how faith is used as a political device by the power-hungry. The character Abhirama, who nurses political ambitions, senses a chance and fuels communal discord. 

In the 90-minute movie, Dhiraj populates his screenplay with sturdy characters. Apart from the evil-minded Abhirama, the movie has a younger lady with a thoughts of her personal. In a backward city, it’s refreshing to see her focus on her needs with her potential husband. A perennially drunk man who spits details can also be a hoot. He represents many homeless strangers in villages who’re extra clever than they seem.

A nonetheless from ‘Kapata Nataka Sutradhari’.
| Photo Credit:
MRT Music/YouTube

The sarcasm within the writing is on level. My favorite is when a YouTuber will get ridiculed as a product of the free web. Kapata Nataka Sutradhari takes sharp potshots on the TRP-obsessed tv media, reminding us of the Hindi movie Peepli Live (2010). The concept, which works brilliantly to an extent, turns into the movie’s undoing when the director will get caught with showcasing media’s exploitation of the ill-fated, shifting away from the core idea of spiritual concord. From a political and non secular satire, the movie all of the sudden turns into a media satire.

A twist reveals how these in authority are ineffective and biased in dealing with spiritual battle. Kapata Nataka Sutradhari works finest when it subtly displays the present state of affairs. Despite many proposing a attainable concept to make sure each — Ismail’s security and the idol remaining unhurt — the state of affairs stays the identical within the movie, displaying how individuals wish to or get conditioned to contest and quarrel as an alternative of coexisting peacefully. And the elephant idol, maybe, displays our flawed system. While an harmless like Ismail will get caught beneath it, the gullible get brainwashed by highly effective individuals with vested pursuits.

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After deftly dealing with a delicate topic for a lot of the movie, Dhiraj throws his fingers up within the climax. He opts for a rosy, idealistic end, dampening the impact of the movie. The climax reveals how filmmakers are apprehensive about their movies being pulled from theatres. Movies with necessary topics pivot to handy climaxes to keep away from censorship troubles.

That stated, Kapata Nataka Sutradhari is a promising debut for Dhiraj, who additionally makes a mark as a author. The movie speaks concerning the temple’s capability to ship miracles. In the top, you witness a miracle, too good to be true.

Kapata Nataka Sutradhari is at the moment releasing in theatres