Readers Write In #774: Nishant (1975) —Rebellion Gone Astray

By Anand Sinha

A Telangana village is accustomed to exploitation by a feudal family until a final act provokes rebellion.

Director: Shyam Benegal Writer: Vijay Tendulkar, Satyadev Dubey Cast: Amrish Puri, Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag, Mohan Agashe, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Satyadev Dubey, Kulbhushan Kharbanda Language: Hindi

Veteran Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal (1934-2024), whose films enquired about the socio-political upheavals in the country, departed the world towards the end of last year. Though there were other filmmakers too whose films charted such realities, Benegal’s genius lay in finding a wider audience for alternative cinema and fostering an artistic fraternity which changed the course of Indian cinema for the better.

In remembrance, let’s revisit Benegal’s 1975 feature film Nishant. It’s the second film of his rural trilogy, the first and third being Ankur (1974) and Manthan (1976).

Nishant (Night’s End) begins with Sanskrit prayers as a Brahman priest emerges from a pond at dawn. The ominous score portends a potential untoward incident. Lo and behold, the jewellery kept in the temple has been stolen. However, this is nothing new for the village. Crops are confiscated, land is grabbed, women get abducted, and labourers are forced to work for free. The village is reeling under the exploitation of a feudal lord and his younger brothers.

The film is set in a village in the Hyderabad state in 1945, only two years before the country’s independence. The feudal family lives by the doctrine of deploying excessive force to grab wealth, land, and women (Jar, Zameen, Joru). Anna (Puri) is the eldest brother and the patriarch whose well-toned, muscular physique is almost heroic until it’s intimidating. His younger brothers Anjaiya (Nag) and Prasad (Agashe) terrorise the villagers with their unruly, debauched ways. For the three men, women are aplenty in the village to prey upon.

The youngest brother, Vishwam (Shah), is learning the ropes of the trade, even if hesitatingly. Vishwam shies away from the violent ways of his brothers and is loyal to his wife Rukmini (Patil) until a new schoolmaster (Karnad) arrives with his wife Sushila (Azami) and a child. Vishwam gets besotted with Sushila’s beauty, and the brothers abduct her one night. Anjaiya and Prasad repeatedly gang-rape her. Initially, Vishwam squirms in following his brothers. However, he cannot control himself one night and goes to Sushila’s room with a whip. Fearing animalistic violence, she embraces Vishwam.

Disgusted with the cowardice of her husband, Sushila turns to the youngest lord due to his caring nature in spite of his bestial cruelty—a not-so-uncommon case of Stockholm syndrome. An understanding of each other’s situation leads to an almost sisterly bond between the two women until Rukmini grows resentful of Sushila.

Villagers are witnesses to the crime, yet the terror of their feudal lords is so frightening that they keep shut and don’t help the schoolmaster. Police, media, and religion—every institution is subservient to the masters.

The schoolmaster is enraged but is careful enough to be respectful of the feudal patriarch. He seeks refuge in the temple, where Sushila comes one day and admonishes him for his  (metaphorical) impotence. The priest offers the schoolmaster fatalistic sermons, but the latter implores the former to open his eyes to the oppressive conditions around. The priest decides to help the schoolmaster, who carries middle-class respectability. We aren’t sure if he would have similarly heeded the call of, say, a labourer. Anyway, they begin to mobilise the villagers and urge them to confront the agents behind their terrible situation.

The villagers eventually revolt one day, and years of pent-up anger lead to a violent mob attack on the feudal mansion. Nobody in the house is spared; even Rukmini doesn’t escape the mob’s fury. Vishwam runs away with Sushila, but the mob discovers the duo and descends upon them. We were already witness to the same frenzy earlier when the mob descended upon a man wrongly accused of theft.

The attack has all the characteristics of an insurrection gone astray where the villagers can’t distinguish between the oppressor and the oppressed. Note that the Hyderabad state in 1945 was a hotbed of communist uprisings, suppressed by the Nehru-led Congress government after independence in 1947. The region also witnessed communist uprisings during the 1970s. However, the uprising in the film is led by a Brahman priest, not the communists. The villagers are goaded towards rebellion through the deployment of religious messaging. Would a leftist leadership have been successful in preventing unnecessary violence? One hardly thinks so. The danger with a mob is that it can stop heeding the leadership, and the violence can spill over into unpleasant territories.

There is another interesting question. During a scene, we see the portraits of Tilak, Gandhi, Nehru, and Bose hanging in an office. This is certainly a post-1947 scenario that begs the question: what period does the film portray? Well, the film was set during the 1970s. But it was the period of Emergency, and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi forced Benegal to add the 1945 timeline. Though the film shows the feudal character of the state, it warns against the perils of a violent rebellion. A little more tweaking and the film could very well have been state propaganda against Naxalism. But Mrs. Gandhi didn’t ask for it, and Benegal wouldn’t have compromised any further.

The collaborative writing of Vijay Tendulkar and Satyadev Dubey is an unquiet meditation on slave mentality and revolutionary violence. Govind Nihalani’s camerawork is effective in highlighting the haven afforded to the mighty feudal lords in the mansion from where they can keep a close eye on the villagers. The pale lighting is stripped of any sheen, and the camera showcases the region’s barren landscape under the blazing sun in full glory, underlining the harsh working conditions of the labourers. Vanraj Bhatia’s soundtrack is ominous, accentuated by Telugu folk songs in the background. Amrish Puri, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, and Shabana Azmi are exemplary in their performances.

Nishant is one of Benegal’s most deftly made films. He doesn’t take an easy route; there are no easy solutions. The film explores the complex ways in which sexual violence in captivity can damage the psyche of the assaulted woman. Though both feudalism and patriarchy harm a society, the villagers might not be so enthusiastic about dismantling the latter. This is why the sisterly bond portrayed in the film is so precious. Though the young lord leaves his wife to die, Sushila is the only one concerned about Rukmini until the film’s end.