The pandemic that we all have experienced, lost loved ones, some got closer to their families. Some have lost their savings, some got so much profit. The pandemic of corona has shown us mirror, how unprepared we were, how unorganised we were, how less cared we had for people. While writing this still I see we have not learnt anything from our past mistakes. The quality of air we breathe nowadays is still killing and we are paying no heed to it.
The movie ‘Homebound’ is written and directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. It shows the reality of India that stills stuck in the age old beliefs. The movie has everything that is relevant to the contemporary world, especially India. The story is about two friends Mohammad Shoaib Ali and Chandan Kumar. Both preparing for the police constable exam, hoping to come out from their poverty and can do something for their family. However the government system of recruitment and delay in the process is exposed in the film. It wonderfully portrays the reality of government exams and how it exploits the youth. Giving a pipe dream and wasting their calibre in making them busy in the examination process.
Indian youth are now after government jobs because everywhere else they will get exploited, long hours, less payment, discrimination, delayed salary, overwork and so on. The only hope remaining for the youth is competitive exams, that is a scam. Either the exam got delayed or the paper got leaked, they have to wait for the order, even after the final list the whole recruitment got cancelled. So in this vicious cycle they get stuck and there is no way out.
Another very important point that the movie discusses is about discrimination on the basis of caste and religion. Both protagonists belong to the marginalized classes. There are many instances as such, Chandan is not openly mentioning about his caste because he fears that others will see him differently. When he goes to the government office for the inquiry he identifies himself from a general category whereas belonged to Schedule Caste. This shows the age old trauma that still stuck with the present generation and it seems that India has a long way to go to get rid of it. In the case of Shoaib, he is not allowed to fill the bottle in the office for other employee, seen as a thief only because of his being Muslim, and gets trolled by fellow office staff while India wins the match against Pakistan. This shows how we are backward not by any caste or religion but by mentality.
The movie also captures the trauma of the corona period. As we have discussed previously, it has a various impact on different people, but for people like Shoaib or Chandan, it was a disaster. Chandan lost his life because of the mismanagement of the government. At last the ambulance arrives only to take the corpse of Chandan, not to rescue him. Same as his order for the selection in the police. The things are late, very late for the people, especially for the people who are poor and marginalized.
The true art always try to capture the darkness of the contemporary time. The movie has proven that right and portrayed the real issues of India. The story telling and acting is of course at the peak. All three leading role have given their best. It is kind of a benchmark they have set. We hope that there will be more movies like this from Bollywood. There are some of the frames that I like I took the screenshot which gives a wonderful message. Of course there are many symbols in the movie, one I like the most is of the bird. When Chandan goes to Surat he puts a pegion in the cage, and at the end we find he comes back where two friends used to sit together. I highly recommend everyone to watch it. This is an absolute masterpiece.
