‘Matto Ki Saikil’ movie review: Prakash Jha shines in a tale of lopsided development and unkept promises

Squatting next to a signboard of the Delhi-Agra Expressway to answer nature’s call, Matto Pal (Prakash Jha) is disturbed by the sudden raid of officials to catch those indulging in open defecation. The Dalit daily wager mutters under his breath, “They don’t even allow us to crap in peace.”

Set in Bhartiya, a sleepy village on the outskirts of Mathura, the centre of  Braj culture in Uttar Pradesh, Matto Ki Saikil ( Matto’s Bicycle) is a gutsy take on the lopsided development matrix that gently opens a window to the welfare state, seven decades after we pledged to give ourselves an equal shot at destiny.

The compensation for Expressway has provided wheels to the aspirations and avarice of the landed and politically-connected in Bhartiya, but what about Matto, who only has a rickety cycle to navigate the changing landscape? The rusted vehicle becomes a character that drives the narrative; is there something for Matto as well in this smart, digitally-mobile India? He still has to carry his ailing wife on a borrowed motorcycle to the government hospital, where the ultrasound facility is not available. The neighbourhood school is used more for storing cow dung cakes than for imparting education.

Matto doesn’t complain, for he knows his place in society. After a hard day’s work, where payment is erratic and dignity is difficult to safeguard, Matto returns to his brood where his wife decides the menu and his two doting daughters seek his attention. However, when his cycle — his lifeline — is snatched away from him, Matto’s faith in the system gets fractured, and our eyes well up without prior notice.

Without using a scalpel, debutant director M Gani exposes the fissures in rural Indian society. Without allowing the pen to bleed, he captures the casual discrimination against Dalits and the changing mores in rural life. Easy access to mobile and Internet data is affecting the social behaviour of the youth and Panchayati Raj remains the rule of the powerful. For the Pradhan of the village, Matto is just a vote that needs to be worked upon before the election; he should not expect a change in the cycle of exploitation.

Gani, a known name in the theatre circuit who grew up in the Braj belt, captures the lilt of the region and the inherent elegance in the life of the poor through the dialogues and cinematography. Even the swear words have a lyrical quality to them, and the evocative folk songs that the daily wagers sing while riding back home, add to the sense of bucolic life.

The sharp everyday humour of the region is the highlight of the storytelling, best captured through the conversations between Matto and Kallu (Dimpy Mishra), the Muslim mechanic who stands by his friend. The way Kallu compares the shimmy in the wheels of Matto’s cycle with the walk of a Bollywood heroine leaves us in splits. Then there is an advocate who is struggling to get past his caste identity to find a footing in the local court. Always found reading a newspaper at the mechanic’s shop, he is like a theatrical device to tell us what is happening beyond the frame of reference.

An astute director, here, Jha literally bends his back to essay the role of a daily wager. Be it the body language or the way he holds his  bidi and rides the bicycle, Jha reflects the spirit of the anonymous poor workers that are found waiting for jobs at the labour chowks of towns every morning. One feared that his performance would become a little too measured, but he has brilliantly fleshed out Matto’s bond with his daughters and Kallu.  A significant work of art,  Matto Ki Saikil needs to be watched and discussed.

Matto Ki Saikil is currently running in theatres