Mission Mangal & Article 15-Two India’s in 2019
If you have not watched Mission Mangal or Article 15, suggest that you watch both of them.
Describing India has always been like the “Description of Elephant By Six Blind Men”
“A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: “We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable”. So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said “This being is like a thick snake”. For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, “is a wall”. Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.”
India is more like 3 European unions stitched together with time frozen in some states.
Mission Mangal is a movie about how Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known as Mangalayan , in a record time with very limited budget. It is a success story of Indian scientists and a world class Indian organisation. The movie is highly dramatised with lot of Bollywood masala, which can be distracting but retains inspirational moments. We need to acknowledge that this is a commercial movie and not a documentary and full credit goes to the story writer and director. The distractions do provide a glimpse about the paradoxes of India.
Article 15 is a hard hitting, depressing movie which is based on a true event. It is a story of casteism, discrimination, lawlessness, abuse of power and denial of basic human rights. It exposes the wounds which India bears, wounds which we refuse to see or acknowledge. Wounds which cannot be healed with bandages alone but requires deep internal cleansing. The story is from hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh but it could still be a story happening next door in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai or Hyderabad.
Article 15 and Mission Mangal represent the diametric opposite sides of India. We need time travel to make the characters of Article 15 meet the architects of Mission Mangal. Nishad’s dream of becoming a scientist does not see the day of light in Article 15, we need Nishad to be mentored by Dhawan of Mission Mangal. We need Gaura to be helped & nurtured by Tara Shinde. We need the science and budgetary innovation of Mars Mission to eliminate manual scavenging.
Above all we need to have respect for fellow human beings.
