RIFLE RANGE BOY: Agnihotri

Buddha in a Traffic Jam (2014)
Written and Directed by Vivek Agnihotri

What would Buddha, being a pacifist, would do when he is caught in a bad traffic jam? Instead of cussing and cursing explicitly or under His breath, He would probably, wait patiently, not to upset the already tense atmosphere, but instead deal the situation calmly. Mere mortals around him would probably jump at the chance to pounce on his non-aggressive way of handling his machine to squeeze to ahead by at least a few cars. For mere mortals that would mean a big deal, they would retaliate, but not Buddha.

The storyteller is trying to equate the Adivasis (aborigines) to Buddha whilst the capitalists and the communists as mortals try to bribe their way to usurp the Adivasis' rightly owned lands for personal interests.

For a movie that Agnihotri had so much difficulty trying to secure financial backings from the movie stalwarts in the initial stage and abandonment by financiers later, it sure did fan a lot of excitement, protests and even riots. It is said to have popularised the term 'Urban Naxalites'. It was the academia where it hurts the most. For a long time, people in higher learning institutions have been looked upon as socialist, leftists or communists' sympathisers. Many have been accused of joining the breaking India forces to cripple the nation from within. Even during the Raj era, educated locals would wag their tails to the beck and call of their colonial masters. They continued as sepoys, and now as journalists, academics and God-men continue their dog and master relationship overseas and even in India.

Even though this film had repeatedly been dismissed as trash by mainstream media and online reviews, one wonders why it obtains raving reviews from others. It hits out at the leftists who have spread all over the institutions of higher learning. With their revolutionary and anti-establishment way of thinking, the young are the most suitable targets to lay their red agendas.

The capitalists are no different from the socialist in the way they expect the masses in their agenda of making money. Nobody actually cares for the underprivileged and the marginalised. It is just dollars and cents.

The films tell of a group of free-spirited MBA students challenged by their professor to develop a business model to help an NGO sell aboriginal pottery. It is allegedly to be siphoned back to the community for their upliftment. The protagonist realised that the setup is a sham to hoodwink the government subsidies for their private coffers. Helping the tribes is the last thing on their mind.

A refreshing look at the real world of philanthropy. It is filled with revelry, intoxication and hedonistic entertainment at the expense of the poor. It had always been self-interest, not altruism.