Just another day...

Ek Din Pratidin (Bengali, A Day Like Any Other; 1979)
Written & Directed: Mrinal Sen

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079098/

Most reviews will say that Mrinal Sen was among the first to address the topic of a working woman. It is not solely about empowerment but also connected to many societal expectations. Much is expected from a working woman that is not demanded from a working son. Nobody worries if the son comes home late or does not return home. A woman who returns late into the night is automatically assumed to be involved in something sinful. No evidence is needed; the evil eyes immediately take it to be so.

This film accurately depicts all the challenges a close-knit middle-class family faces when their working daughter, who is incidentally the sole breadwinner, fails to return home until late at night. Residing in a rented estate where interactions between neighbours are inevitable, the situation can become more distressing when well-meaning comments appear harsh, inadvertently adding to the tension and confusion.

Kollywood films often focused on this issue, albeit in a more dramatic manner, as they were produced for mainstream Tamil cinema rather than more artistic ones like this. Off the top of my head, I recall Arangetram (1973), where a lady is praised highly when she contributes financially, but is discarded quickly after discovering the nature of her work. Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, released in 1974, also addressed the same situation, where all the family burdens fall on the working daughter, while the brother lounges around. Still, the mother tolerates the useless son.

Ek Din Pratidin provides an hour-by-hour account of what the family experiences when a working daughter fails to return home at the usual time. Initially, the family assumes she is working late, but when a call to the office goes unanswered, anxiety begins to grow. This was a time when even having a landline phone was a luxury, so forget about mobile phones. Father waits at the bus station to discover she was not on the last bus either. Meanwhile, neighbours offer support, but some of their remarks only make things worse. The brother reports the matter to the police and also checks the hospitals. There was a minor scare when someone matching the daughter's description was found seriously injured, but it turned out to be someone else.

The real reason why she is missed so dearly gradually becomes apparent. The family discusses the rent payments, the education of the younger children, and how they rely on the daughter's income. Meanwhile, the unemployed son just runs around but isn't really contributing much to the family's daily expenses.

The missing daughter finally arrives unceremoniously. Nobody questions why she was late. The daughter is surprised that everyone is waiting up for her. Meanwhile, the landlord insists that the family vacate their room. The colony is for decent people. The whole fuss about the missing daughter suggests she is somehow wild and sinful.

 

The film won the 1979 National Awards. In an interview, the director, Mrinal Sen, was asked why the reason for the protagonist's absence was not revealed till the end. He replied that his film was to highlight the insecurity of middle-class life and the claustrophobia of middle-class morality. The reason for her absence is irrelevant. Not all working women are financially independent. The burden of family responsibility is placed upon them, and she is caught in an emotional trap. 

At the end of the film, a new day begins, yet for the mother of the previous generation, it is merely another day spent doing the same chores: cleaning and cooking. Nothing truly changes. Despite the modern world around her and the liberties the new era offers to younger women, she, like many others, remains caught in the monotony of another ordinary day.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

A swipe at high society?

Decoupled (Miniseries; 2021)
Netflix

It used to be that the institution of marriage was held in such high esteem that all parties worked in tandem to ensure the continuity of this august partnership. This union is viewed as a necessary worldly duty and a mandatory duty for the continuation of species.
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In a family unit, in daily day to day living, frictions are bound to arise. The schism between fitting to fulfilling personal agendas and familial needs often clashes head-on. When the shove comes to the push, family requirements take precedence. People had no qualms putting aside private desires for collective upliftment.

Somewhere along the way, things changed. At the dawn of the 20th century, the century of self saw people taking more interest in personal development. The idea of giving life and soul to a community or clan did not fly. It became self-interest above the rest. We, a collective noun, became I, me and myself.

This miniseries piqued my interest so much. A sarcastic individual who has a caustic comment on everything that happens around him reminds me so much of myself. Quite often, this trait of his lands him in trouble. The protagonist, Arya Iyer, is a prolific writer, second on the bestseller list, is quite opinionated and has no qualms about airing his two-cents worth. In his eyes, modern society is self-centred and narcissistic. No matter what they say about inner beauty and external appearance being skin-deep, they are quick to pose to get that perfect angle of their best look. Herd mentality is deeply engrained, and a preset response is expected.

Despite his displeasure, Arya has to tolerate all these quirks about society as he lives on their goodwill. They have to like his books. It might be a paradox as they are the very observations that he is trying to poke fun at. 

The modern upper-middle class is a haughty, demanding lot that feels entitled and has no reservations about expressing what they think. They do not give a damn how the affected party would feel as it is well within their rights to articulate. At the same time, put in the same situation, they flip. They hyperventilate, scoff, quiver, feel tight-chested and cry invasion of personal space. It seems that everything in the modern world is defined.

It is a riot to watch Arya and his antics as he goes through a separation from his spouse of 10-over years. They, however, want to keep it hush until their daughter reaches high school. In the meantime, living in a gated community with the fellow middle-class western-educated crowd in a twitter-dominated world is no fun. Infiltrating into media with equally quirky members is no walk in the park. It is so easy to find love of the passionate kind in an open society. Is it the generation gap or just that Arya and his similar-minded friends are just a notch above the rest?

Reviews on this miniseries found online are mixed. They are either all too condemning or singing praises of it. This is to be expected. After all, writers, journalists and much of the English-consuming audience are the target group of the screenwriter's ridicule. It is deemed crass humour to mock sexual orientation, gender identity, body shapes and place the female gender as the butt of jokes. It is insensitive, it seems, to ridicule 'noble' deeds like switching all electrical devices for an hour on Earth Day but leaving the air-conditioning off for the rest of the year! On top of that, there are cancel culture and woke generation that one has to deal with! 4.5/5.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.