Recently, I watched this movie called Guthlee, and my god, did it hit me. I’m not the person who cries after watching a movie, but this movie did make me shed tears. The young boy, Dhanay Seth, who played the role of Guthlee, could easily give the big stars a run for their money. Sanjay Mishra, as always, was excellent in his role as headmaster. So why am I writing this? I feel Guthlee is one movie everyone should watch, and let me tell you why?.
The movie is the story of a young boy who is born a dalit and how he fights the world to get admission into a school. The movie makes us question our privileges and gives us a sneak peek into the lives of manual scavengers. Without even saying a word about reservation in educational institutions, the movie makes us realize how important it is for these people. All of us today who think reservation on the basis of caste is not relevant, this movie makes us question that notion. Earlier in December of last year, I appeared for my CLAT examination, and I didn’t get through my dream college, but a person with reservations who had scored less than me did. It was at this point that even I started questioning these reservation policies and how they prefer needs over merit, but now I think that reservations are indeed important because when the headmaster says, “We fight for power, they (guthlee) fight for existence,” this simple dialogue sums up the entire debate around reservations, and the last scene just solidifies it further. I will not spoil the movie for you, but the last scene can definitely provide us with a lot of answers as to why we need reservations.
Now, I know people coming from less privileged financial backgrounds also face a lot of difficulty, which I absolutely agree with, but to understand how caste plays a role in depriving reserved castes of basic human dignity and a chance at life will give us a more comprehensive understanding. Moreover, if you think that it’s not true today, just observe yourself and how you treat the people who clean your toilet, and you will get your answer. The same people who treat them as untouchables suddenly forget about untouchability when they want to beat them up and inflict physical violence on their bodies just for breaking the so-called “laws” of society. Caste-based violence is still a reality in our country.
Throughout the year we documented incidents of hate crimes based on caste as well as attacks on tribals. Such incidents were reported from various parts of the country and a common thread between these incidents is that caste based atrocities are often triggered by miniscule and trivial matters such as sporting a moustache, drawing water from a well, eating food at a ceremony and so on.
https://cjp.org.in/2022-a-look-back-at-hate-crimes-against-dalits-and-adivasis/
The other major focus of the movie is education and how it has the power to change society and the lives of individuals. Throughout the movie, you will see how Guthlee is struggling to get himself educated, how he talks about the stars, and how even after being better than the kids studying in the school, he is not allowed to study just because he is a Harijan. The movie is filled with many hard-hitting dialogues and scenes that beautifully capture the stark reality of our country.