Prakash Jha's birthday: Issues he has represented in his cinema
Multiple-time National Film Awardee Prakash Jha is celebrating his 72nd birthday on Tuesday. An artist who has painstakingly sculpted his niche through his unfaltering emphasis on rampant Indian socio-political issues, Jha's cinema is a genre, a cinematic institution in itself. On the producer-director-actor's birthday, we take a look at some of the pervasive issues he has underlined through his works.
'Damul'
National Award-winning film Damul, which starred noted actor and Jha's ex-wife Deepti Naval, zoomed in on bonded labor, oppression, subjugation, caste politics, and slavery. Naval rubbed shoulders with Annu Kapoor, Ranjan Kamath, and Pyare Mohan Sahay. It also won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie and marked the first of Jha's many films with a strong political spine. Stream it on YouTube.
'Gangaajal'
Headlined by Jha's frequent collaborator Ajay Devgn, Gangaajal focuses heavily on unrestrained criminal activities and extrajudicial killings in the boondocks of India. Emboldened by an ensemble cast comprising Mohan Joshi, Akhilendra Mishra, Yashpal Sharma, and Anup Soni, Gangaajal's strength lies in its intensity and the engaging plot driven by the performances. It clinched the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.
'Raajneeti'
A modern-day spin on the Hindu epic Mahabharat infused with India's obsession with political lineages, Raajneeti dealt with rivalries, rage, and the fixation with sweeping elections, even by objectionable means. Back in 2022, Jha had hinted at a sequel to the film in the coming years. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nana Patekar, it is now streaming on Netflix.
'Aarakshan'
As the name reveals, at the core of Aarakshan is the ever-contentious, fiery debate surrounding caste-based reservations in India. Though the film came and quickly disappeared at the box office despite an ensemble starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan, and Bajpayee, it is yet another addition to Jha's crusade toward shedding spotlight on the real, grassroots-level India.
