SNIGDHA SHAHI

BA POLITICAL SCIENCE (H)- 2nd year

ROLL NO.: 0169
THEME: CASTE
Movie: Masaan
Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
Year: 2015

INTRODUCTION
Two storylines run parallel in this movie. One is of Devi, the daughter of the
priest Pathak caught by the police having sex with her boyfriend Piyush in a
hotel room, and how her and her fathers lives take a turn for the worst, an
echo of what the policeman who caught her prophetically declared, your life
is ruined now. The other is of Deepak Kumar, a boy studying in an
engineering college, the son of a lower caste (dom) man working at the
shamshaan ghaat, falling in love with a girl Shaalu Gupta from a higher
caste.
In a small town like Benaras, regarded to be even more conservative being a
holy city, embedded social divisions run through the very soul of everything,
be it public spaces, the state machinery, or opportunities for advancement.
Gender, sexuality, caste and social mobility are some of the major social
themes explored in the film. The plot and its progression echo its titleMasaan, or crematorium, a place where death, destruction, and hopes of
resurrection cross paths, well stated by a reviewer. The location of the film is
aptly a place caught between the old and the new- you have priests on the
ghats with mobile phones, young men and women experimenting with sex,
and blossoming young love. Unfulfilled desires of today are trapped in the
confines of a glorious pure and religious past. That is why Pathak pleads to
the policeman to save them from the hassles of the legal-bureaucratic
structure because they belong to the same caste. That is why Deepak,
despite to the viewer at least holding a position of equality with his
classmates in class hesitates to speak up when faced with a doubt in the
lesson, because nobody else has doubts and choruses the same. That is why
Deepak is doesnt lose his nervous hesitancy even as his romance with
Shaalu progresses.

EDUCATION OFFERING SOCIAL MOBILITY

Deepak is studying engineering. In one instance, his father says, Good.
Study, get a job and get out of here or else youll end up dying with the
ashes only. Education in the modern scenario offers a shot at social mobility.
Today, there is a case for merit in some arenas, Deepak tells his mother. She
echoes the sentiments she has come across in her lifetime- dont they ask
for money if you want a job? This exposes a high degree of corruption in the
bureaucracy, of course, but also shows the state as an instrument of
exploitation, closing off avenues for the betterment of the lower castes, and
relying on the caste-class nexus to do so. Deepak is the only son in the
family who has to shoulder the lofty expectations of a better life; the only
one who is working towards improving their financial situation, according to
his father, and therefore he is offered more leeway. Deepaks friends advise
him caution when this romance with Shaalu takes off- she is from an upper
caste, but if you get a good job, that wont matter too much. Shaalu tells
Deepak that her parents are orthodox and old-fashioned, and will never
agree to their marriage, so he must focus on getting a good job. Financial
stability and security is thus envisioned as the only way out of the
stereotypes associated with caste.

TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

Devi meets her boyfriend at the computer center where she works. The
policeman records a video of Devi and her boyfriend being caught in the
hotel room and threatens to upload it online if he isnt given his demanded
bribe within the stipulated time period. Deepak, hesitant to ask for Shaalus
name in person looks her up on Facebook along with his friends. He starts
talking to her on Facebook because of the comfortable anonymity this
medium of communication provides; when they meet in person for the first
time, the contrast between her refined Hindi accent and his Benarasi one is
pretty obvious. Technology or the new, may have penetrated the old, but it
has also made the old more dynamic. The results of this interaction are
mixed, evidently. Technology is giving wings to the aspirations of the young,
but as the policeman would point out, emboldening them falsely.

So what is offered to the young, a curious and passionate lot, is limited

mobility. It is like being told that here, this is the sky. You may try to fly but
we have chains that will hold you back. You may flutter and rejoice in the few
feet off the ground that youve manage to rise to, but your fall is inevitable.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SPACES
The movie starts in a hotel, as shady as it might be, but still considered to
represent a private space- where the individual can feel liberated and as
Devi considers it, experiment and quench curiosity related to sex.
However, this private space is invaded by the police or state authority. The
distinction between private and public spaces is blurred- where is the
individual free in their own life? Individuals have no claims to spacesdominant ideologies, certain moral standards of behavior and norms define
spaces.
In another instance, the first time Shaalu and Deepak meet in person is at a
caf- which reflects a modern form of dining. An upper caste girl and a lower
caste boy share from the same plate and eat the same food, thus wrapping
them in a certain kind of intimacy which wouldnt have been possible in a
traditional dining space subject to the scrutiny of watchful eyes and ears. It
affords individuals a certain degree of privacy and anonymity, breaking caste
barriers in a subtle way.
The interaction between public, spaces and caste also comes to light in this
instance in the movie- Devi wants to go to the cremation grounds where
Piyush is offered last rites. However, she is stopped on the way by a priest
who says that the pyre area cannot be visited by women. This is the very
same ghat where Deepaks family lives and works- so men of a lower caste
have access to the space, whereas women of all castes do not. It is a
preserve of only males- regardless of their caste.

CONCLUSION
To round off the essay on a well-rounded film, Id borrow a couple of highly
relevant and profound metaphors from the film itself that convey the
essence of both the storylines.
This ring doesnt come off now. My uncle made me wear it on my finger as a
kid. I grew up, and my finger also grew but the ring remained the same. So
now, I cant take it off. The ring comes off only when its too late.
Twenty eight trains come here and they stop for sixty four. Coming here is
easy. Leaving isnt.
The movie finds closure in the very way it progressed- meanderingly and
beautifully. It is open ended enough to offer hope, and hangs on to
redemption.