L'ho apprezzato meglio alla seconda visione, forse perché alla prima mi sono sentita soverchiata da così tanto materiale. I dialoghi sono impositivi, non ti danno respiro, ti urlano in faccia un sacco di cose. Alla seconda visione, dopo aver ormai incassato e digerito, ho potuto soffermarmi con calma sui due aspetti principali che qualificano Jana Gana Mana. Innanzitutto la sceneggiatura astuta, che ti induce a simpatizzare per il protagonista, te lo sbriciola, in parallelo ti presenta un nuovo ambiguo personaggio e te lo trasforma in eroe. E poi l'interpretazione efficace dei due attori principali, già visti insieme nel sorprendente Driving licence. Suraj Venjaramoodu è solidissimo, conquista la tua fiducia, si guadagna il tuo rispetto, e quasi ti dispiace doverlo detestare. Prithviraj ha una presenza scenica pazzesca: pronuncia le battute con una convinzione tale che scappi via, per nasconderti dietro un albero e ammirarlo da lontano a distanza di sicurezza.
Certo la trama è affollata di temi, compressi con un'urgenza che mi ha fatto temere per la salute del regista: ha forse un male incurabile e questo è il suo ultimo film? È incredibile come lo sceneggiatore sia riuscito ad incastrarli fra loro in un solo copione, quasi spuntando un'immaginaria lista. JGM è una sorta di promemoria dei mali che affliggono l'India (ho preso appunti durante la visione): stupri, squadrismo reazionario nelle università, moral policing, giustizialismo (giustizia istantanea, come il caffè), gestione scorretta delle notizie e processi mediatici, torture ed esecuzioni sommarie da parte della polizia, razzismo, discriminazioni castali, suicidi di studenti, corruzione, disonestà criminale della politica, manipolazione delle masse. Tutto in un'unica pellicola.
Le battute affidate a Prithviraj sono un'incalzante sequela di denunce espresse con una sintesi fulminante. Il rischio è di scivolare frettolosamente sulla superficie senza approfondire nulla in maniera adeguata. Qualche argomento si poteva depennare, così come si poteva evitare il tono melodrammatico. I personaggi minori sono appena tratteggiati, la figura di Saba troppo angelicata. La regia alterna sequenze girate con mestiere (ad esempio l'esecuzione sommaria - quella vera) ad altre dilettantesche e/o artificiali (ad esempio il discorso del vicerettore in memoria di Saba, o le proteste degli studenti). In sostanza JGM è per certi aspetti un buon prodotto, per altri grossolano e semplicistico. Considerando il contenuto, il fatto che abbia incontrato il favore del pubblico però rincuora.
TRAMA
I media riportano la notizia dello stupro e dell'omicidio di Saba, giovane docente universitaria il cui corpo è stato dato alle fiamme. Insorge la protesta degli studenti, ma la polizia, affiancata da squadre affiliate al partito politico al potere, entra nel campus e picchia i ragazzi. Alcuni finiscono all'ospedale. L'investigatore incaricato del caso incontra i feriti e i familiari di Saba, guadagnandosi la loro fiducia. Spunta un testimone che racconta di aver visto quattro uomini appiccare il fuoco alla salma di Saba. Parte la caccia.
ASSOLUTAMENTE DA NON PERDERE
* Prithviraj in versione avvocato-bulldozer dalla voce tonante ha il suo perché.
LA BATTUTA MIGLIORE
* Prithviraj rivolto ai presenti in aula ma soprattutto a noi spettatori: Avete celebrato la loro morte non perché volevate giustizia, ma perché volevate che fossero uccisi. Non le manda a dire.
RECENSIONI
The Hindu:
'Gets its politics right, not so much the execution (...) In quite an interesting set-up, at the interval point, they get the audience to cheer for encounter killings - which is unfortunately quite popular in our society too - only to spend the next half showing why that whole idea is wrong. (...) The contemporary debates in the country, around the growth of far right politics, which survives on constant stirring of the communal pot and dissemination of hate propaganda, must certainly have been playing in the screenwriter's mind while writing the film. But despite its right intent and partly interesting structure, the making is quite uneven. Much of the treatment is loud and over-dramatic, especially the court scenes in the latter half. While it meanders pointlessly in the initial campus scenes, too much is said in quite a few rushed sequences towards the end. (...) Yet for all its cinematic flaws, the film does not hold anything back as far as the politics that it wants to speak. It raises uncomfortable debates on how those who raise questions are branded and targeted, how the media sets narratives at the behest of the establishment, how it plays into the inherent biases of the common people, and how the politics of identity is used to divide people for votes'.
S.R. Praveen, 28.04.22
Film Companion:
'Jana Gana Mana is a cleverly deceptive political film that doesn't trade entertainment with its importance. (...) Surprisingly, the film is fully able to hold its cards close to its chest because of its casting. What actors like Suraj [Venjaramoodu] and Prithviraj (...) have managed to do is keep their screen image wide enough to be able to accomodate any shade, which only makes the film even more engaging. (...) It's like a well-written editorial in The Hindu being brought to life for a Tik-Tok audience. In fact, the only portion that didn't do justice to the film's tight screenplay is the way it ends with a teaser of the second part. (...) As a lone standing film, JGM is a thoroughly engaging call to action against fascism told in the most entertaining manner'.
Vishal Menon, 28.04.22
Cinema Hindi: ***
Punto di forza: il messaggio, l'astuzia nella narrazione, Suraj Venjaramoodu e Prithviraj.
Punto debole: la regia, il melodramma, l'affollamento di tematiche e denunce, la presentazione del sequel.
SCHEDA DEL FILM
Cast:
* Suraj Venjaramoodu - Sajjan Kumar, poliziotto
* Prithviraj - Aravind, avvocato
* G.M. Sundar - ministro degli interni
* Mamta Mohandas - Saba, docente universitaria
* Shammi Thilakan - avvocato, avversario di Aravind
Regia: Dijo Jose Antony
Sceneggiatura: Sharis Mohammed
Colonna sonora: Jakes Bejoy
Fotografia: Sudeep Elamon
Montaggio: Sreejith Sarang
Lingua: malayalam
Traduzione del titolo: the minds of all people. Jana Gana Mana è l'inno nazionale indiano.
Anno: 2022
RASSEGNA STAMPA
* Obedience is not a quality of a good student: Sharis Mohammed, writer of Jana Gana Mana, Vishal Menon, Film Companion, 5 maggio 2022:
'Let me begin by asking you about the scene where Dijo Jose Antony (...) makes an appearance as a lecturer.
It is the only scene set in Kerala. More than the scene itself, it's the timing of the scene that is most important in the context of the film. I look at that scene as the last spark that lights the fire. Even generally, I believe that Kerala society does today what the rest of India does tomorrow. (...) Back in the 70s or 80s, students from the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Kerala Students Union (KSU) used to influence even the State elections in Kerala. But now I feel that politics can be relegated to online activities rather than offline. (...)
The structure of JGM is quite fascinating. (...) It even got the audience to celebrate the scene where Suraj's character shoots those convicts. (...)
For us, getting the audience to applaud that scene was our success criterion. That's when we knew the film has worked. We were anyway sure of the second half but if that had to work, it needed a scene like this. (...)
What about the point the film makes about biases? (...)
The second we align with an ideology, we stop thinking and take it as it is and think it is correct. (...) With JGM, I wanted people to take a pause and not get carried away by this information overload on social media. There is something beyond black and white. There are more than two sides to stories too. The debate is what's more important. No one today is willing to hear the other side speak.
You have staged this film outside Kerala. (...) What was the idea behind that?
I wanted a juncture or a common point between all four southern States. (...) People speak all four languages apart from Hindi and English. (...) We wanted that plurality to be conveyed strongly. (...)
Do you think a film with such a message would have been possible in another industry? (...)
I understand your question but I would have tried to make the same film there too. I feel the scene where Dijo appears underlines your question because that spark has to come from Kerala. But I want films like JGM to be made in all industries across all languages.
What do you have to say about the reading of the film where all its primary characters can be interpreted as from the privileged class or castes who are defending minorities? (...)
I don't myself know the caste of the characters I've written. (...) Even the casting decisions are all based on their performances and not the least because of their colour. But if caste and colour are so evident to a section, I can only submit that it hasn't crossed my mind.
Of the many things I really appreciate about the film is how you've chosen to add a shot where even the students who support the ruling party in that world get a chance to reform or question their establishment. Usually, a character with an opposite ideology does not get that dignity.
What I believe is that even the apolitical person has his or her own politics. If they decide to not vote, that too speaks of a kind of politics of dissent. Instead, the voter I find most problematic is one who never changes their opinion from when they are 18 years old till they are 80. They are just a number... a statistic. They are not asking questions. My movie urges everyone to ask questions and not believe in one belief system or ideology without challenging it.
Finally, what was the idea behind inserting a long preface for the second part? (...)
We needed to explain certain things about Aravind (...) because we have to justify his motivation to defend such a case so emotionally. (...) He has a past and we wanted that to be underlined so people are invested in his story. And when people come out asking for a second part, we know the characters have stuck'.
CURIOSITÀ
* Il regista si è ritagliato un cameo nel film: è lui il professore che incita gli studenti ad abbandonare l'aula e a protestare in piazza. Fra l'altro è l'unica scena ambientata in Kerala (la storia si svolge nel Karnataka).
* Riferimenti al cinema indiano: Shah Rukh Khan.
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