Meera who has been moving between a desk job and the dream of a booming career as an actress, has finally been selected as the protagonist for a new movie Bowled Over. At the same time, Dabloo, a spot boy on these sets had the highest point in his career shelved and is now struggling financially, hoping to find another big break while Jayesh is striving to make it big in films by gaining millions of followers in TikTok. As these individuals wander around the margins of the glittering film industry, Miki Taneja, a renowned name in the casting industry is plagued by #MeToo allegations which is upsetting his professional reputation. As fate causes these characters to drift into each other’s path, the complexities of the film industry are revealed quite subtly to the layman reader.
Take no. 2020: The Mother of All Retakes is a narrative within a narrative that involves both, those at the peripheries of the Indian film industry-the aspirants of it all and others who are within it. While some arguing on the lines of nepotism would suggest that the former deserves the spotlight, bringing into focus the latter is equally important as it helps in understanding the somber realities existing underneath the glamourous outpour witnessed on the film screen.
The story alternates between the personal hardships of Meera, Dabloo and Jayesh who each reflect several challenges plaguing outsiders attempting to create a permanent space in the film industry. While the absence of an insider’s network is common to all, penetrated by the influences of cast, class and gender, all three exhibit unique obstacles in their journey to become successful actors. In Mira Kanthan is reflected the image of an ordinary middle-class woman tackling commitment to her passion as well as the illusion of an ideal relationship. Coming from Chennai, Mira, after multiple minor assignments has finally been able to secure a significant role within a major film set.
However, at the same time Raghu, her lover, expects quite a patriarchal behaviour from her. Not prioritizing the growing exposure in Mumbai, he wants her to come back to Chennai where they can both live together. Apparently, all she requires is a good agency based in Chennai that can provide her with auditions. Their circumstances worsen as Meera becomes pregnant following a drunken careless night, failing to be assisted by a gynaecologist as the contagion-like situation of the 2020 pandemic continues to worsen. Women in the film industry undergo exceptional screening tests of being not too fat, not too old, not a parent, and not pregnant. While these criteria tend to disqualify a large number of aspirants, those that do manage to enter are equally vulnerable to misogynistic and predatory behavior promoted not only by the kind of films that are made contemporarily but also by people, especially upper cast cis-heterosexual males, who, having made a name or won a prestigious award consider themselves at liberty of balancing their extreme genius with monstrous acts.
Miki Taneja “the puppet master of the casting couch” is one such example. Constrained by #metoo allegations, Miki suffers a backlash in his career as ASN (American Studio Network) refuses to work with him for a new project. While denying the allegations, Miki in the privacy of closed doors continues to strategize legally against the truth and blames his tormented and incomplete love story with Sarita. Like any other patriarchally brought up man he too believes in “signals” from women. Since no action and no artistic creation is purely objective, the work that is contributed to by Miki demands interrogations of the ancient debate of separating the art and the artist. What does a character like him and the perpetual impunity with which he continues to practice his metier demonstrate for the industry and all the women who aspire to become actors someday? Do we overlook individuals like him as one more side effect of being part of the glamour or atleast attempt to comprehend that this kind of contemplation of film being different in the sense of a more licentious world actually continues to accord more agency to the perpetrator excusing them for their talent? The portrayal of Miki Taneja asks all these questions that are crucial to both Bollywood and Hollywood.
Another crucial problem that arises in the novel is that of the nature of nepotism among people outside of industry. While undoubtedly, “star kids” are brought up with a huge network of professionals and opportunities, the outsider crowd is not as homogenous in its cultural capital as it seems. They too enjoy a certain kind of nepotistic privilege. Jayesh and Dabloo suggest these differences. Jayesh who was born to a Gujarati family, has financial assets that help him focus on building a career for himself. While the family is not supportive, the presence of a rental property helps in supporting the lavish lifestyle he likes to maintain for his TikTok followers.
At the same time, he satisfactorily goes to the gym, works out, and coaches people. Holding financial resources as well as cultural capital are assets that create a hierarchical wall among the outsiders too. On the contrary, Dabloo is nearly devoid of the same. His family in the village has reluctantly agreed to his life in Mumbai. As his first film gets shelved, Dabloo doesn’t have the liberty to ponder over the profound disappointment that he may have felt. He has to continuously look for ways to finance himself which also explains why he is unable to hone his craft. Devastated by the death of his brother Bindu Bhayya, he walks a long way with other migrants during the pandemic, in the hope of finding a ride to his village. He doesn’t receive any ovation for his acting until he is at his lowest point. As a speculation on my part, Dabloo may have been glorified once Ghummakad reached a larger audience however no one in the industry seems to have accepted and apologized for the hardships he had to face.
Take no. 2020: The Mother of All Retakes is a retake highlighting the complex challenges in the contemporary film industry and that too from the perspective of someone who has been at both ends of it. A novel with a plot of this kind rekindles hope that the industry would take notice and make an effort to improve its approach towards all that goes into making a film.