Readers Write In #633: Aatmapamphlet: India’s Barbie (maybe even better)

By Kartik Iyer

Paresh Mokashi does it again in 2023. This time, as the writer of Aatmapamphlet. Directed by Ashish Bende, it is based on his story, written for the screen by Mokashi. Undoubtedly, this is one of the best films of the year. From the first scene onwards, it induces laughter. The writing is supremely funny. It has a typical Marathi wit to it. However, Ashish Bende adds cinematic flourish to it. It is stylishly satirical. It will remind you of Mel Brooks films.

It is the story of Ashish Bende. The narrative chronicles the life and times of Bende from before birth to the present timeline of the film. It brings together culture, history, fashion, nuance, language, politics, and lived experiences. The most surprising thing is that for such an expansive story, the film is small. It revolves around a few locations. It is quite limited in its spatial scope. Temporally, it flows every which way, and so does its writing.

Few Indian films have tackled caste in such a humorous way. Few Indian films are so angry and scathing of India’s divisive culture without being aggressive. Everything is undercut by a desire to make us laugh. The film succeeds at it, becoming one of the best satires made in India. Most of the credit for it goes to Paresh Mokashi.

The story, though true, is nothing new. Mokashi adds a fresh angle to it by introducing a narrator. That narrator, like the writings of P.L. Deshpande, takes us through the film, making us laugh. The connection to Deshpande is clear because he himself had written a first-person account of life called Asami Asami. It must have been a clear influence because Deshpande binds cultural history and personal history in a way that Aatmapamphlet does. Asami Asami lacks the heavy, sharp political critique and social enquiries which Aatmapamphlet doubles down on. However, they share a similar comedic style.

Visually, the film has a lot in common with Edgar Wright and Barbie. Bende does not sit-back and let the narration do the heavy-lifting. He elevates the writing by employing a camp humour style in its visuals. This helps in two ways. It makes the material funnier because the narration is self-referential, taking digs at itself. Secondly, it makes the limitation of being a small-budget movie irrelevant. If you want to tell a good story, you can tell a good story.

Despite all this, it will be dishonest of me to say that it is perfect. It ends up exhausting a few tropes and it wraps things up in a slightly shabby manner; in comparison to the rest of the movie, it was a little disappointing. It will also be dishonest of me to say that for the most part, the movie is hysterical. It is unabashed. It is irreverent. To know that it was made in Marathi makes me happier, once again proving that given a chance, Marathi filmmakers are incredible storytellers. I would like to end this by giving a special mention to Paresh Mokashi. For the second time this year, he has delivered a thoroughly fresh movie. In a year where internationally, many veteran filmmakers have released their films, Mokashi’s films stand shoulder to shoulder with them.