Manjhi: The Mountain Man

As a ‘Musahar’, a rat catcher, a person at the lowest rung of the caste system in Bihar, it is possible that Dashrath Manjhi’s 22-year-obsession with carving a road through a mountain was as much a revolt against his subjugation in the social hierarchy as it was an ode to the woman he loved. Clearly, that is how director Ketan Mehta seems to have interpreted the story of Manjhi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) in his biopic on this extraordinary individual.

The ‘musahar’ is a bonded labourer in Bihar, and it is to escape this life that the young Dashrath runs away from his village as a boy and works in the coal mines of Dhanbad. Once the ‘Zamindari’ system is formally abolished, he comes back, and under the naive illusion that the taint of caste and servitude has been abolished as well, fondly embraces the village headman and local tyrant (Tigmanshu Dhulia).

Of course the odious system is as entrenched as ever and Dashrath finds much prejudice and little employment after he falls in love with and marries Phagunia (Radhika Apte). Still, the couple are deliriously happy, and their love scenes are some of the most romantic in recent Hindi cinema.

However, this comes to an abrupt and tragic end when she slips and falls off the mountain and dies because she can’t be taken to a hospital in time. Through the events that follow, Dashrath connects the dots between his social subjugation and his lost love, and with inspiration he receives from visions of his late wife, builds, as an emperor once did, his ‘Taj Mahal’—a road to make life easier for his fellow villagers, trapped by poverty like himself.

This is a moving and well made film, with the lead actor showing us how to love, grieve and age with conviction and grace.

About The Author

Ajit Duara