Pairon Talle: Soul of Sand

He freezes. A fly’s buzzing on a factory watchman’s face, he traps it in his palm, and crushes it. Cruel? But then that’s life on an isolated expanse, outskirting Delhi, where fast food chains vend pizzas and burgers, for those who can afford Rs 500-a-pop meals. As for those standing sentinels to the multi-crore properties, who cares?

Director Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle: Soul of Sand attempts to posit a change of the feudal order, which is its chief strength. Ideologically and humanistically, you applaud Srinivasan’s take, but you do have some issues with the dramaturgy. It gets hopelessly simplistic, frequently wedging in wispy sub-plots when it could have been stark and focused. Echoes, too, are evident of Shyam Benegal’s Ankur (lord and master exploiting his vassal’s wife sexually), Dibakar Banerjee’s Khosla ka Ghosla (the venal corruption in the development of the National Capital Region), not to forget the stylistic nods to the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino in the explosions of blood-splattering violence.
Moreover, some situations like a 50ish man caring a damn about his daughter’s suicide, are improbable. As for the daughter’s mother, except for a cursory shot, she plays Mommy Invisible. Predictable, too, is a cop who seems to be a happy balle balle sort, only to turn into a Judas. Cut to a hired assassin who covers his face with a scarf, showing off smouldering eyes throughout, as if he were auditioning for a B-grade Bollywood flick. Alas, plausibility and subtlety aren’t Srinivisan’s forte.
Yet, doubtlessly the overall impact packs in a wallop, articulating what the underprivileged and the underpaid cannot. The relationship between the watchman (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) and his wife (Saba Joshi) is at the core of the story. Guileless to the extent of being childish, apparently he doesn’t have a clue about the fact that his master — the proprietor of a barren silica mine — demands sexual sessions from her, tossing her a crumpled Rs 500 note occasionally.
The watchman’s to servility born till the centuries-old exploitation spirals out of control. The master’s plans to sell the mine backfire. His daughter elopes with a low-caste boyfriend. Next: after a calm for most of its length, the narrative breaks into a storm of reprisal and gore-splash. Quiet snatches — like the watchman’s drunken afternoon with the local cop, the creepy master lording it over a wasteland sitting under a beach umbrella, and the eloping couple seeking a hide-out by midnight — are effectively written and directed.
Reportedly, Pairon Talle... had to wait for two years for a limited theatrical release. It’s another eminently supportable, independent film which depends on its storyline and ideological fervour. The film’s varnish-free, except for the over-coloured visuals in the post-production. The naturally photographed shots are by contrast, strikingly authentic.
Despite too much boot-black make-up, Dibyendu Bhattacharya is convincing in his role of the underdog. Rupinder Valia in the part of the pleasant-natured cop is a natural. Avtar Sahni, as the fiendish father, is the most impressive of the lot. An NSD graduate, he should be seen far more often in the movies, independent or corporate. Those with a taste for socially concerned and hard-hitting cinema, should grab Pairon Talle... instead of the KLPD types.