Neeraba Jhada
Encyclopedia
Neeraba Jhadaa.k.a The silent storm is an 1984 award winning India
n Oriya film directed by Manmohan Mahapatra, which depicts the realities of village existence, where dehumanized peasants still dream of a more fulfilling life.
, the villagers condition remain unchanged. Poverty & illiteracy have fostered their dependence on superstition. Most of the villagers have mortgaged their land to the landlord Janrdhan. Fear of traditional authority and sense of abject helplessness keep the villagers from protesting against their condition. perhaps it is such as muted rebellion that sent Malia mad. Janardhan's greed and the inability of the villagers to protest in the face of injustice, creates a situation where many of the villagers are forced to become contract labourers and the leave the village to earn a livelihood.Haria. who has no other means of raising money
to give a dowry at his daughters marriage, has to join this band. Heleaves his family with a heavy heart. His young son exclaims,‘Father, you will go to the city' You will see the wide roads, the big buildings, the coloured lights!. Hiding his grief, Haria promises to bring back gifts for them from the city.
in the meanwhile Bhamar (Hemant Das)antagonizes Janardhan, when to pay back his loan to he goes to work in the stone quarry instead of working for free on Janardhan's land. Janardan sees to it that he loses his Job. His real intention is to take over the last piece of land that is not mortgaged to him. Bhamar's land. While Bhamar fights for his survival in the village, his daughter Phoola finds herself drawn towards a young man in the employ of Janardhan. One day when they meet in secret, they me spied upon and Phoola is recognized. There is in scandal in the village as a result, Janardhan takes this opportunity to get Bhamar ostracized in the village, especially since he has tried to defend his daughter in public against Janardhan's allegations.
When Bhamar discovers that the allegations are true, that it really was his daughter who was meeting a man in the village in secret, he is shattered. He goes back to Janardhan to mollify him. But Janardhan is not prepared to listen. He makes it clear that unless Bhamar clears his loan, he will not he allowed to enter his own fields. He will also have to pay the penalty for his arrogance in the next village meeting. Left with no other alternative, Bhamar decides to leave the village and take up the job of a contract labourer. But before Bhamar can leave the village Haria, a contract labourer comes back suddenly one night. He has been ill, but they forced him to work all
the same. Haria escaped to come home and rest for a few days, though he knows that he cannot escape the clutches of his new employers for long. The children huddle around him in the hope of
gifts, but their father has come empty-handed. Looking at his son in despair he says. 'Yes. son. I have seen the wide roads and the coloured lights. But they took us fur away from them to a place
where one has to work till the time, from dawn to dusk.
Bhamar and Phoola wait at the little station near the village. Phoola will go to her uncle’s home and Bhamar to hard, back-breaking toil. As they wait for the train, Phoola wmeeps. 'Don't cry.
my daughter' says her father. 'Look ! Look, there lies our village. My grandfather was born there, so was my father. I was born there too. I have to come back there one day to take possession of my
land!'
. Bhamar and Haria are the archetypal peasants of India trapped by their
ignorance and poverty into a cycle of exploltation which continues to push them towards a dehumanized existence. Yet they have the audacity to dream of a more fulfilling further. Their latent instinct for survival will not be crushed under the soul-destroying drudgery of their lives. Haria's little son dreams of the wide roads and coloured lights of the city. Phoola desires a home of her own with the man she loves. Bhamar knows he must come back to till his own land. Generations of submission t the obsolete feudal laws of the land has still not managed to annihilate the human spirit. Bhamar and Haria will not give up their struggle. Within their own confined worlds, they will continue t battle against the forces that daily attempt to santch away their last possession, their human dignity. But one day the many individuals worlds will unite. The silent storm will break. its resonance will sweep away the dusts of a decaying system and make place for a new generation whose dreams will be their reality.
Manmohan Mahapatra's "Neeraba Jhada" ("The Silent Storm"), a beautiful, grueling film about a peasant's brave stand against a greedy landlord's determination to grab the peasant's holdings, the last bit of property in the region not in his possession. This is as uncompromising a film imaginable about a people mired in virtual slavery, upheld by ignorance, superstition and tradition, yet it also is a tribute to humanity's strength to endure and even to hope.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Oriya film directed by Manmohan Mahapatra, which depicts the realities of village existence, where dehumanized peasants still dream of a more fulfilling life.
Synopsis
In a remote village in OrissaOrissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, the villagers condition remain unchanged. Poverty & illiteracy have fostered their dependence on superstition. Most of the villagers have mortgaged their land to the landlord Janrdhan. Fear of traditional authority and sense of abject helplessness keep the villagers from protesting against their condition. perhaps it is such as muted rebellion that sent Malia mad. Janardhan's greed and the inability of the villagers to protest in the face of injustice, creates a situation where many of the villagers are forced to become contract labourers and the leave the village to earn a livelihood.Haria. who has no other means of raising money
to give a dowry at his daughters marriage, has to join this band. Heleaves his family with a heavy heart. His young son exclaims,‘Father, you will go to the city' You will see the wide roads, the big buildings, the coloured lights!. Hiding his grief, Haria promises to bring back gifts for them from the city.
in the meanwhile Bhamar (Hemant Das)antagonizes Janardhan, when to pay back his loan to he goes to work in the stone quarry instead of working for free on Janardhan's land. Janardan sees to it that he loses his Job. His real intention is to take over the last piece of land that is not mortgaged to him. Bhamar's land. While Bhamar fights for his survival in the village, his daughter Phoola finds herself drawn towards a young man in the employ of Janardhan. One day when they meet in secret, they me spied upon and Phoola is recognized. There is in scandal in the village as a result, Janardhan takes this opportunity to get Bhamar ostracized in the village, especially since he has tried to defend his daughter in public against Janardhan's allegations.
When Bhamar discovers that the allegations are true, that it really was his daughter who was meeting a man in the village in secret, he is shattered. He goes back to Janardhan to mollify him. But Janardhan is not prepared to listen. He makes it clear that unless Bhamar clears his loan, he will not he allowed to enter his own fields. He will also have to pay the penalty for his arrogance in the next village meeting. Left with no other alternative, Bhamar decides to leave the village and take up the job of a contract labourer. But before Bhamar can leave the village Haria, a contract labourer comes back suddenly one night. He has been ill, but they forced him to work all
the same. Haria escaped to come home and rest for a few days, though he knows that he cannot escape the clutches of his new employers for long. The children huddle around him in the hope of
gifts, but their father has come empty-handed. Looking at his son in despair he says. 'Yes. son. I have seen the wide roads and the coloured lights. But they took us fur away from them to a place
where one has to work till the time, from dawn to dusk.
Bhamar and Phoola wait at the little station near the village. Phoola will go to her uncle’s home and Bhamar to hard, back-breaking toil. As they wait for the train, Phoola wmeeps. 'Don't cry.
my daughter' says her father. 'Look ! Look, there lies our village. My grandfather was born there, so was my father. I was born there too. I have to come back there one day to take possession of my
land!'
Cast & crew
- Production: Chayyadhwani Productions
- Story: Nandalal Mohapatra
- Direction and Screenplay: Manmohan Mahapatra
- Camera: Rai Shekhar and B. Bindhani
- Music: Shantanu Mahapatra
- Sound: Gopinath Das and Bani Mohanry
- Art Direction: Ashinn Basu and Sampad Nlahapatra
- Editing: Satyendra Mohanty
- Lead Actors: Hemanta Das, Niranjan Patnaik, Robin Das,Jaya Swami, Manimala
Review
In Neeraba Jhada, Manmohan Mahapatra shifts his interests to an entirely rural environment, depicting a universe of deprivation within the closed atmosphere of a single small village in OrissaOrissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. Bhamar and Haria are the archetypal peasants of India trapped by their
ignorance and poverty into a cycle of exploltation which continues to push them towards a dehumanized existence. Yet they have the audacity to dream of a more fulfilling further. Their latent instinct for survival will not be crushed under the soul-destroying drudgery of their lives. Haria's little son dreams of the wide roads and coloured lights of the city. Phoola desires a home of her own with the man she loves. Bhamar knows he must come back to till his own land. Generations of submission t the obsolete feudal laws of the land has still not managed to annihilate the human spirit. Bhamar and Haria will not give up their struggle. Within their own confined worlds, they will continue t battle against the forces that daily attempt to santch away their last possession, their human dignity. But one day the many individuals worlds will unite. The silent storm will break. its resonance will sweep away the dusts of a decaying system and make place for a new generation whose dreams will be their reality.
Manmohan Mahapatra's "Neeraba Jhada" ("The Silent Storm"), a beautiful, grueling film about a peasant's brave stand against a greedy landlord's determination to grab the peasant's holdings, the last bit of property in the region not in his possession. This is as uncompromising a film imaginable about a people mired in virtual slavery, upheld by ignorance, superstition and tradition, yet it also is a tribute to humanity's strength to endure and even to hope.
Awards & Participation
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in OriyaNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in OriyaThe Best Feature Film in Oriya is a National Film Award . Oriya is a national language of India. Previous award winners are as follows:...
(1984) - Silver Lotus for best OriyaOriya languageOriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
film - National Film Award for Best CinematographyNational Film Award for Best CinematographyThe National Film Award for Best Cinematography are given annually. The only female who has won this award is Anjuli Shukla, who won the award for her debut film, Kutty Srank . The most time winners are Santosh Sivan & K.K. Mahajan - 4 awards each for best cinematography category....
(1984) (black & white category)
External links
- http://m.pressmart.com/Home.aspx?event=TNewInExpress&dt=11072010&page=414_017&mdl=