Rich in thoughts, excessive in drama, refined in aesthetics and impeccable in manufacturing values, this film is an ought to-watch.
Biopics are of two types – one which tries to concoct records; and the opposite that attempts to live up to records. While the former is an image building exercising, the latter attempts to document activities of a personality whose story deserves to be advised.
The eponymous biopic of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar falls inside the latter class. While the modern-day narrative reduces Dr. Ambedkar to the position of Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly, the biopic offers him the due fame of a social iconoclast. The biopic directed through Jabbar Patel tries to capture within its 180 minute walking time the different layers of his multi-faceted personality consisting of being a pupil, innovative thinker, a firm believer of human equality and justice, a fierce opponent of orthodoxy and fearless crusader of social justice.
The national award triumphing film begins by using displaying the student days of Ambedkar at Columbia University, wherein he studies on a scholarship from the King of Baroda. Ambedkar, whose prodigious intelligence turned into noticed by way of the King, became chosen as a social test to deliver slow social reform inside the society.
In Columbia, we see Ambedkar (performed by using veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty) deeply engrossed in his studies, keeping aloof from the developments in freedom conflict movement lower back home, a great deal to the wonder of many. He is proven to be skeptical approximately the improvement of the country of low castes even supposing British rule is replaced by means of higher caste Hindus.
His doctoral thesis on casteism brought to Western academia the horrors of this unique Indian phenomenon of graded social hierarchy which treats millions of ‘untouchables’ worse than animals.
His return to India after studies threw him right into a cauldron of caste hostilities. He found out that erudition and brilliance will no longer efface the “untouchable” stigma. He observed it difficult to locate a place to live in Mumbai; his colleagues took objection to him sharing their jug of water; his students at Law College refused to accept him. This merciless social ostracism is poignantly portrayed in the movie.
The Mahad Satyagraha (1927) is powerfully depicted in the movie, doing whole justice to the significance of this ancient event. The Bombay Legislative Council Council had passed a law permitting low caste persons to apply public tanks. However, fearing backlash from the top caste, the low caste men and women did not exercise their prison proper. Ambedkar prepared a mass movement to break the caste limitations, and hundreds of humans under his management openly drank water from the tanks, inflicting resentment to the top caste individuals of the vicinity. They accomplished a purification rite of the tanks, to dispose of the impact of “defilement”. Also, the low caste folks who dared to apply the tanks were violently attacked. These incidents shown in the movie remind one of the violent events which came about in Kerala after the access of ladies in the Sabarimala temple in exercising in their right declared by using the Supreme Court. More the matters trade, extra they continue to be the equal!.