In recent years I have realised that spirit communicates through to us using methods to with which we are most comfortable and to which we are most likely to pay attention. Hence, in my case, I gain many insights through the medium of film. I have shared some of these insights in other posts, but in this post I am going to take a deeper dive into the messages I received through a particular film.
The film in question is called “Massan”. A 2015 indie Indian film (no pun intended) which screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. It was an unusual film for me to be seeing for a number of reasons. Firstly I only very occasionally get to see films these days. I also had no intention of seeing this film, and it was a film showing only in one venue on one night. The fact that circumstances furnished the opportunity for me to see this film was, I’m sure, far from a coincidence. Knowing this, I paid close attention to my thoughts and feelings as the film proceeded.
I had read the synopsis prior to seeing the film, which I repeat below to provide a context for the comments that follow:
‘Benares, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges, reserves a cruel punishment for those who play with moral traditions. Deepak, a young man from a poor neighbourhood, falls hopelessly in love with a young girl from a different caste. Devi, a young student who’s gone off the rails, is tortured by feelings of guilt following the disappearance of her first lover. Devi’s father Pathak, a victim of police corruption, has lost his moral compass because of money, while a young boy, Jhonta, is in search of a family. These characters are all seeking a better future, whilst buffeted between the demands of modern life and an attachment to tradition. And their paths are about to cross…’ Cannes International Film Festival
Additional comments from the Hollywood Reporter offer an interpretation of the film’s intent:
‘Masaan, the Hindi word for crematorium, is part of the new generation of indie films whose clear intent is to set ablaze a hidebound society’s constrictions on personal liberty. Although the film’s two loving couples are hideously punished for breaking conventions, just like in classic melodramas, here the uplifting ending paves the way for change and modernity.’ Hollywood Reporter
At one level the above assessment above is entirely accurate. The film very blatantly and painfully brings to light the gross injustices inflicted on vulnerable members of the community (women, the poor and socially disadvantaged) by a judgemental and corrupt society. As a woman and mother myself, I was outraged and deeply saddened by the treatment meted out to a young woman unfairly vilified for having broken a social taboo. Not only that, but social prejudice made it so much harder for her to obtain the higher education which was so readily available to her male counterparts. What allowed her to ultimately obtain her goal was as much a function of the changes occurring in Indian society, as it was her personal drive and initiative.
Beyond this interpretation of the plot are a number of other possible layers of meaning. Could the ‘punishment’ of the female victim of social injustice have involved an element of karma for example? To my way of thinking, the treatment she received was far in excess of any punishment she deserved for breaking a social taboo. However there are universal laws, of which many people are unaware – the violation of which can bring unexpected consequences.
Another possible ‘take away’ could be the need for harsh lessons in life to prepare us for living our life’s purpose. It is said that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and this has certainly been a recurrent theme in my life. It is also a fact that we sometimes require a ‘wake up’ call to get us on track with our mission in life (echoes of my own life here too).
The film’s name also reverberates with symbolism. Masaan (crematorium), by definition, involves the burning of bodies. It was therefore a poignant, if less than subtle ending to the film, when the surviving members of the two young couples were brought together on the steps of the Ganges and arose, phoenix like from the ashes of their former lives, to embark on new chapters in their lives. The question that lingers in my mind was whether the young woman would be able to fulfil her ambitions to complete higher higher educational studies in the face of the romantic prospects that lay before her. This question is as much a reflection of my own fears and life experience as it is my doubts about the ability of a young woman to withstand the expectations of a male dominated society and put her own career on an equal footing with that of her husband’s.
My final, unavoidable, comment relates to the miraculous role of a ring in bringing together the two surviving young people. Whilst many film goers would be cynical at the use of such an unrealistic device , I have witnessed too many real life ‘coincidences’ of this kind to dismiss it as mere fiction. It is with this thought in mind that I offer the following interpretation of this element of the plot.
A young man loses his girlfriend in a motor vehicle accident. Through a miraculous coincidence he happens to be on duty when her body is brought to the banks of the Ganges for cremation. Through these circumstances he is able to obtain the only memento of their relationship – a ruby ring that had been fused to her finger as a child. During the course of his grieving for his dead girlfriend, he makes a half-hearted attempt to sell the ring to reduce his father’s debts, but instead ends up throwing the ring into the Ganges. He immediately regrets his rashness and attempts to find it, albeit without success. Not long afterwards, the small boy who had been diving for coins at the behest of the father of the compromised young woman, finds the ring at the bottom of the Ganges and presents it to his master, thereby allowing the father to pay the ransom demanded by the corrupt policeman. Hence, due to a series of apparent coincidences (but in actual fact, divine synchronicities) the wronged family is released from the clutches of the corrupt policeman, freed from the shame of a public scandal, and saved from bankruptcy. The young man who lost his girlfriend is in turn presented with the promise of a new love – made possible as a result of the sacrifice made by his dead girlfriend and his own impulsive action of throwing the ring away. Mind you, the young woman and her father don’t escape unscathed from their circumstances. She had to spend a period of time working in a series of mind-numbingly boring jobs for the purpose of contributing to the ransom demanded by the corrupt policeman. Her father, whilst not directly responsible for his daughter’s error of judgement, was nevertheless provided with an opportunity to learn some lessons through the process of paying the ransom. For one, he has to confront his daughter over the circumstances of his wife’s death. He also nearly loses the young boy in his charge when the boy almost dies when diving for coins on his behalf. Finally, he suffers financial loss until he is shocked into recognising the overriding importance of his relationship with both his daughter and his young charge. Only when he put the interests of the boy ahead of his own concerns over money, and permits his daughter to follow a path of her own choosing, does the universe provide a solution to his financial difficulties and a substitute for his daughter’s companionship.
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Enlightened Transformation 