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★★★★☆
8 January 2018
A movie review of THE BRAWLER a.k.a. MUKKABAAZ. |
“I want to live on my terms until I die,” Shravan Singh (Vineet Kumar Singh)
GANGS OF WASSEYPUR (2012) is both my favourite Indian film, and arguably the best Indian film of all time. With THE BRAWLER, director Anurag Kashyap continues to hold a mirror up to Indian society in exciting fashion. Weaving social commentary in genre movies, here sports, is a smooth method of reaching a wider audience. (See also recently, TALVAR (2015), doing a similar thing with the police procedural.) Anurag Kashyap movies do not give the audience an easy ride. Who wants that anyway? From RAMAN RAGHAV 2.0 (2016) to THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS (2010) his body of work is consistently unsettling, but you do not dare turn your eyes from the screen. Kashyap is forging an international brand, and is fast becoming one of the most compelling filmmakers working right now.
GANGS OF WASSEYPUR (2012) is both my favourite Indian film, and arguably the best Indian film of all time. With THE BRAWLER, director Anurag Kashyap continues to hold a mirror up to Indian society in exciting fashion. Weaving social commentary in genre movies, here sports, is a smooth method of reaching a wider audience. (See also recently, TALVAR (2015), doing a similar thing with the police procedural.) Anurag Kashyap movies do not give the audience an easy ride. Who wants that anyway? From RAMAN RAGHAV 2.0 (2016) to THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS (2010) his body of work is consistently unsettling, but you do not dare turn your eyes from the screen. Kashyap is forging an international brand, and is fast becoming one of the most compelling filmmakers working right now.
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THE BRAWLER is a state of the nation address, while also dissecting toxic family dynamics. The patriarchy dictatorship is firmly in the cross hairs of the filmmakers. Without democracy, accountability and equality, how is a fair society going to arise? The focus is sport, yet it applies across a country where corruption is rife and justice is in short supply. Among many other ideals, meritocracy is a casualty. The film’s first pointed question is: Why does India win so few sporting medals? The economy is on the rise, and the population is over a billion. The pool of talent must be ginormous. Compare and contrast China’s achievements. In less skilled hands, this might have been a dull politics rebuke. However, an audience can swallow the medicine of diatribe, when there is the sugar of cinematic panache. In addition, the story injects mischievous, charming leads into proceedings.
Don’t forget, this is a boxing movie. The tropes of the genre are present, yet given a refreshing spin. There are only so many endings to competitive games: Win, lose or draw. THE BRAXLER’s climax is not what you expect. For genre aficionados, there is of course the training montage. It is stylish and fun, giving some respite from the well-argued invective. Action sequences thump, in and out of the ring.
Like all the best sports flicks (THE FIGHTER, THE WRESTLER, etc.), it is not about the tournament but the participants and their families. THE BRAWLER takes the Bollywood staple, a love story, to talk about inequality, the caste system and disability. Gangsterism and poverty are thrown into the mix. The prize of one tournament is winning a government job. That such is part of the sport illustrates how many problems the nation’s boxing is up against.
One of the most pressing issues facing India is tackled: Female mistreatment. The co-lead, Sunaina Mishra (Zoya Hussain), is mute and regarded by the antagonist as a chattel. Her character is a metaphor for the silencing of womankind. (Though thankfully Sunaina is not merely a cypher, but a vibrant persona in her own right.) While the film is highly specific in its criticisms, those around the globe suffering from Brexit, Trump, etc. are well aware the themes are universal.
THE BRAWLER is an Indian ROCKY, but better.
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