Goutam Ghose’s Raahgir Is A Masterpiece On Par With Ghose’s Paar

goutam ghose raahgir is a masterpiece on par with ghose paar

Nothing has changed for the poor. Those who exist at the grassroots continue to eke out a hand-to-mouth living with no time to worry about tomorrow. Goutam Ghose’s new Hindi film is on par with Paar, his 1984 melancholic yet hopeful meditation on poverty.

There is an uncanny, though purely unintentional, resemblance between the two films. Both are based on celebrated short stories, though by different authors.In Paar, Ghose’s powerful adaptation of Samresh Basu’s short story, a couple named Naurangia (Naseeruddin Shah) and Rama (Shabana Azmi) had to herd a group of pigs across a turbulent river.

The turbulence remains unchanged.

In Goutam Ghose’s Raahgir: The Wayfarers, adapted from a short story by Prafulla Roy, two strangers, Lakhua (Adil Hussain) and Nathuni (Tillotama Shome), help another stranger, Chopatlal (Neeraj Kabi), negotiate a rickety van carrying a dying couple through an impossible slush.

The very act of moving across the most difficult terrain possible with nothing to cling to except hope becomes a majestic metaphor for the warlike struggle for existence for those below the poverty line.

Raahgir is much more than just a story of abject destitution. It is a curiously lyrical story of a journey where two strangers become travelling companions. Lakhua and Nathuni bond through a journey that is underscored by nature’s fury. Ghose, a master creator right up there with Ray when it comes to aligning humanity with nature, seeks no major thrusts in his narration to punctuate his simple story.

Shot with brilliant subtlety in the most unexplored parts of Jharkhand by cinematographer Ishaan Ghose (who is the director Gautam Ghose’s son), the rugged topography comes alive as a living character in this survival story.

Raahgir has a far more resonant ramification than Paar, wherein the destitution of the protagonists functioned on the premise of immediacy. This time, Ghose goes deeper into the dredges of despair.

And yet, there is a certain hopefulness in the way the protagonists react to their circumstances. The film opens with Nathuni rescuing herself from rape. When Nathuni’s slippers give way in the slush, Lakhua plays Mr. Fix-it, repairing the crucial footwear with a safetypin.

Lakhua, for that one journey from her village to the nearest town, becomes Nathuni’s companion and protector. Being her family’s sole provider (the husband is paralyzed), Nathuni is not used to this role reversal. Her face mirrors so much gratitude and joy that it becomes difficult to forget how wretched her life is.

Tillotama Shome and Adil Hussain as Nathuni and Lakhua are every bit as brilliant as Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi in Paar. These are the actors who define the very best of Indian cinema. Goutam Ghose and his lead actors deserve a standing ovation.

Raahgir: The Wayfarers is among the most significant Indian films in recent times. It awaits a release in India. The sooner, the better.