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Bablu Babylon Se: A Bantering Tale of New India

Poster of "BABLU BABYLON SE"

It was surprising to watch Bablu Babylon Se at the 52nd IFFI (International Film Festival of India) Awards. I mean how this film was selected in the Non-Fiction category of the Indian Panorama section when puritan diktats have been preserving the pseudo-nationalism by chocking the loquacious voices which try to scream the bitter truth happening around us, this film unflinchingly portrays the inevitable hapless future this country is heading to. It is really commendable if after all these, this film gets selected and screened at a film festival organised by the government. It is always expected from a film festival to be neutral and unbiased like this.

A story from a dystopian province, where everything, literally everything is controlled and produced by a corporate company named ‘Babylon’. Babylon’s possessions don’t seem to have an end. Our protagonist, Bablu is just an insignificant and obedient employee of Babylon who is sent to a barren land to oust the last living family. Babylon is making a hydro-power project by complete deforestation in an infecund dry land. Later Bablu has to face an unprecedented rebellion by Pilot and his followers, conspiring against behemoth Babylon and the story thus takes a comical turn.

Writer-director Abhijeet Sarthi, also an alumnus of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), frames a dauntless satire on extreme monopoly. A province which is completely sold to a mammoth enterprise which controls and takes possession of all the elements to live. Abhijeet even goes to an extent where he depicts that Babylon manufactures seedless fruits that nobody can plant and reproduce further. The idea seemed mindboggling and a complete embezzlement of natural resources. The director makes a sarcastically strong argument about environment conservation. Indeed, the real fun of eating a mango lies in sucking the yellow-orangish seed after relishing the sweet pulp centering it. But have you ever thought what will happen if you are given a seedless mango to taste? Director Abhijeet Sarthi sensibly chooses this fruit to underscore his statement.

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Manoj Pahwa as Bablu In Bablu Babylon Se

The iconic Manoj Pahwa gives an appropriately balanced performance as Bablu to justify the underlying comic elements of the storyline. Cinematographer Tarak Tej deftly lights the indoor scenes where mixed tints of green, orange and yellow remind me of several scenes from Blade Runner 2049 (cinematography by Roger Deakins) which gives it the vibe of a parallel world.

A Scene from Bablu Babylon Se

While in recent past, we witnessed that how a person’s citizenship has been questioned abruptly by amending laws, where people are marked as outlanders on their own soil to drive them away. A massive disinvestment has already started which is utterly regressive for such a large democracy. Cows are being conserved with utmost care, where fugitive businessmen simply loot and escape by giving wind to crony capitalism. Laws regarding corporate privatization of farming and market and abandoning of MSP has been repealed due to long term mass-agitation. Whereas Babylon was one of the prominent ancient civilizations, famous for its historical tale of hanging gardens. Naming it Babylon and depicting a ‘Banana Republic’ is not perfunctory. Can you guess now who or what has made laughing stock here? Try to connect the dots.

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