PATNA:When cinema weaves a parallel with the dynamics and contours of politics, the saga can be confusing. In Bihar, where Assembly elections are around the corner, Ketan Mehta’s Manjhi the Mountain Man is more likely to confuse voters with Jitan Ram Manjhi, former chief minister who fell out with JD-U chief Nitish Kumar.
Jitan Ram Manjhi claims to have over 15 per cent Dalit votes in the state. With his newly floated Hindustani Awam Morcha, he may prove to be a fighting force in the coming polls.
The movie, however, has nothing to do with politics—it is about a poor labourer called Dashrath Manjhi from Gehlaur village near Gaya in Bihar, who carved a path through a mountain using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of hard labour, Dashrath shortened the travel time between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km. He died in August 2007.
Living in a remote village without knowing much about the world outside, Dashrath realised that a new road could be constructed by making a way through the mountain. He carved a 110-meter long and nine-meter wide road that brought a new civilisation to the remote village. Dashrath, who worked on landlord’s farms, was motivated to take up this herculean task after his wife Falguni Devi died in 1959 and he could not take her to a hospital. He is called “Dashrath baba” by his villagers.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrays Dashrath in the movie, while Radhika Apte is Falguni Devi and Deepa Sahi is Indira Gandhi. Earlier, actor Aamir Khan had visited Wazirganj and dedicated the first episode of his show Satyamev Jayate season 2 to Dashrath. Seeing the response to the trailer of Manjhi the Mountain Man, Mehta said that he’ll share a part of his earnings with Dashrath’s village.
With the movie releasing across Bihar on August 21, Nitish Kumar has waived off entertainment tax on it. When Dashrath had met Nitish Kumar, the JD-U leader had made him sit in his chair as a mark of respect. “The decision to waive entertainment tax was taken by the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which observed that the movie was based on the inspiring life of Dashrath Manjhi, popularly known as ‘Mountain Man’, which should reach maximum audiences,” said Shishir Kumar Sinha, principal secretary, Cabinet Coordination Department.
Work on the movie began much before Jitan Ram Manjhi became the chief minister on May 20, 2014, but he may just be able to garner political advantage from it as both he and Dashrath belong to the same caste, Mushar, and come from the same district, Gaya.