A Touch of Spice

Mirch Masala

Mirch Masala

A Very good narrative on Pre-Independent India where Oppression of Tax Collectors on Villagers is depicted very well. While I do not want to summarize the Story, I would like to highlight excellent Direction by Ketan Mehta & acting by Smita Patil, Suresh Oberoi & Om Puri. The vulnerability of the villagers is exposed & very few people stand up against the Naseeruddin Shah who is the Subedar. The astonishment of the villagers on seeing the Gramophone for the first time is also very impressive I managed to watch it online & was thoroughly impressed. It certainly deserves a 9/10

Ketan Mehta's career best, 'Mirch Masala' takes an impressively original concept about pepper factory workers and their village which is threatened by a sleazy tax collector and tells a refreshing story. The film is set in the era when India was still under the invasion of the British empire. It will be wrong of me to divulge much of the story and risk spoilers. However, what really stands out about 'Mirch Masala', next to the gripping story, is its meticulousness. The setting, sets, costume, language and body language of the actors and music really capture the preciseness of the village and its culture. Mehta and co have done a solid job in the writing department, especially with the dialogues and the events that unfold. In addition, Jehangir Choudhary's cinematography is also worthy of mention. The film also features some of the best actors of the 1980s Hindi film. If it also starred Shabana Azmi and Sridevi then all my favourite actors of the time would have been in one film. Smita Patil, Deepti Naval, Supriya Pathak and Ratna Pathak look incredibly beautiful. By beautiful, I am not referring to the supermodel look that has become a common preference among a majority, but rather there is an authentic and luminous beauty to these women and the way they carry themselves. Needless to say, their acting is amazing, especially that of Deepti Naval and the late Smita Patil. Naseeruddin Shah gives one of the most memorable (and underrated) villainous performances of Indian cinema and Om Puri and Suresh Oberoi are excellent. Mehta sensibly tackles various themes concerning the oppressed and oppressors of the villages such as sexism, resistance (or the lack of it), class distinction, gender stereotype and equality and group conformity. 'Mirch Masala' is a sincere film that is poignant, engaging, exciting and fascinating.

MIRCH MASALA is a film that I watched for my World Cinema class this semester and it certainly is a good one. It tells the story of a woman, Sonbai (Smita Patil), who is sought after by a subedar (tax collector). She continually resists his advances and ends up hiding in a spice factory as the subedar doesn't intend to take her rejection of him. Thematically, the film deals with resistance to (colonial) oppression, with the subedar serving as the symbol of British colonialism and Sonbai representing the ordinary Indian citizen. And since the story largely focuses on women, it could be thought of as a feminist film to a certain degree. What the film does well is develop its characters in terms of personality and motivation. The most attention is paid to the tax collector, but with the intention of having you hate him. There was a particularly well-done scene in which he overreacts to someone who accidentally breaks one of his phonograph records. In this one scene you get a sense of this man as someone who looks down on his fellow countrymen who aren't in service to the British, as well as someone who is quick to anger when something happens that he doesn't like. There is also his singular motive to sexually claim Sonbai, a married woman, and which provides the main narrative thrust (no pun intended). Generally speaking, I thought that the themes were handled well, if a little broadly and "on the nose" at times. What didn't always work for me was a lot of the acting, which seemed kind of stagey. I also didn't care for the sound mix on the DVD. I understand that a lot of films from the 1980's and before (especially foreign films) were post-synced, but there didn't seem to be a good balance between various sound elements. Also, for all of the build-up to the finale, I thought it went by a little too quickly. Overall, MIRCH MASALA has a good, socially conscious message, but it hasn't aged too well in my opinion.

A stunning film set in rural Gujarat in colonial times about one spirited woman's brave stand ( Sonbai- Smitha Patil ) against a village full of ' manly ' cowards, who pass themselves off in daily life as moral patriarchs ( who 'prove' their pathetic machismo by beating their wives , pulling their hair & keeping mistresses ) but are completely spineless when confronted by a mercurial Sergeant / Subedar- Naseeruddin Shah ( sent to collect taxes from the village ). To the provincial villagers- the lowly but expansive subedar might as well be a commissioned army officer or Lord Mountbatten himself - they didn't know the difference & were completely cowed over & overawed by him , his power , his apparent sophistication and try to appease him by persuading Sonbai to service the obstinate Subedar ( esp. since she lives alone while her husband / Raj Babbar has left to the city for work ) & go to the extent of perversely implying that Sonbai would be actually selfish if she didn't sacrifice herself to the Subedar , to spare the village - a bizzare , twisted morality espoused by the outwardly dignified mukhiya ( Suresh Oberoi ) & supported by all the other 'patriarchs' including the village temple's , weasely temple priest . The women who work with Sonbai in the village karkhana - the spice factory, also turn against her when they are under siege in the karkhana in a stand-off against the village men & the Subedars soldiers. Under overwhelming pressure Sonbai is supported by the lone, principled ,incorruptible aging karkhana guard, Abu Mian ( Om Puri ) armed with a single rifle. The only real MEN in the entire village apart from Abu Mian & the school master ( Benjamin Gilani ) are Sonbai and Saraswati ( Deepti Naval ) - the mukhiya's disdainful & silently enraged wife & her band of female supporters ( each more manly than their husbands ) A beautiful movie with stellar perfomances by Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smitha Patil & Deepthi Naval. An absolute must see. One of the top 10 best Hindi films of all time. 9.5 / 10

The film is set in an India before independence. "Baap Gee" (Nasseruddin Shah) is a tax collector (subedar) of a village. Sonbai (Smita Patil) is a village belle who is married to Raj Babbar. They are a childless couple.Babbar goes to the city for employment. Shah sees Patil at the village lake and begins to lust for her. There are unseen and horrendous consequences for all the protagonists. The movie was produced by National Film Development Corporation was it seems they did not give more than a couple of hundred bucks for the same. It looks badly dated at many places. The side characters get meaty roles and do justice to them. Suresh Oberoi plays the village head Mukhi (short for Mukhia) who is hand in gloves with the subedar. He spends nights with another woman and neglects his wife played superbly by the excellent Deepti Naval. Benjamin Gilani plays the village teacher who emphasizes on the education for the girl child. There is Paresh Rawal in one of his earliest roles as a village wise ass. He gets a few lines but impresses in his part. The music is nothing to write home about. The movie is lifted out of its mediocre production values by stellar performance by Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shah. Ketan Mehta, who is both the writer and the director, does a commendable job with the obviously limited amount of funding he must have had at his disposal. This can be seen by movie buffs who want to see great acting. It has its heart in the right place but sometimes, like in life, it is not enough.

Very well done movie. Good writing executed by top level actors. The film attempts to capture the spirit of Rajasthan and the society quite nicely. The cinematography does justice to the Desert state. Struggle of the females at various levels and the triumph of the brave makes up for this fabulous movie.

"Sach aur Sahas hai jis ke man mein, Ant mein jeet usi ki rahe...." The quote is from the movie 'Lagaan'. You must be wondering what this quote is doing in the review of a movie which was released about 20 years back(1985). The reason is that the basic theme in some ways is still the same. Mirch Masala is one of the most powerful film to have been made in India. A low budget movie, starring Nasseruddin, Smita and Om Puri in one of their best performances ever. The story is of a pre-independence Kutch village in India, the British deployed Tax collectors enjoy a total monopoly over the villagers and they have transformed into Bandits, looting and snatching from the villagers whatever they desire: money, cattle, land or women. The head collector (Naseer) is one such guy and on one of his trips to this village comes across a woman (Smita) and immediately develops a liking for her. He tries to woo her a couple of times but finally manages to get slapped by her in front of his goon army. Then starts the chase. The lady runs and finds refuge in a Spice factory guarded by an old Muslim (Om Puri). The factory has 20 odd women working and they are trapped inside too. Naseer tries to lure her out but fails. Om is pressured by many including the factory owner as well as the Village Head (Suresh Oberoi), but he comes across an honest old man willing to sacrifice his life. The movie tackles many social issues like women education, women empowerment etc. The ending scene is very motivating and captivating where a group of 20 odd women (and the old guard) are able to achieve what the 100+ plus villagers could not. That is, rise against the handful oppressors and teach them a lesson. How they manage to do it is something that should be watched rather than told. Excellent movie that can be watched any time and for any number of times.

I first saw this movie bits & pieces when I was five yrs old , recently I saw full movie when it was being shown on Doordarshan parliament channel. The story is superb .Characters are developed properly.you get the feeling of a Gujarati village ( someone wrote rajputana /MP) very authentically. Metaphor of Mirch is very powerful. Apart from Smita Patil ( Most of time she expresses her disgust & indignation through her eyes) other characters also play their role well. Om Puri as good old chowkidar. Dina PAthak As old lady with horrible memories of past which keeps on repeating it again & again. Sudesh Oberai as corrupt Mukhi. But words of Praise for Dipti NAval .She represents Gandhi's ideal of passive resistance & an awakened woman perfectly. Specially the scene where she gets the women to thump plates against cowardice of village males is superb. Mohan GOkhale represents typical lover of those days who could not stand against families. Overall a must watch for everyone & specially students of history & sociology to understand how revenue system worked in India.