“मरता नहीं इश्क ओ मिर्ज़ा,
सदियाँ साहिबान रहती हैं”-
Gulzar
Rakeysh
Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Mirzya’ starts the title credits of his film in an unusual
manner, the name Mirzya appears on the screen, drawn through clustered
particles of sand, and as the powerful voice of Daler Mehndi proclaims the
mightiness of Mirzya, an arrow pierces right through the middle of the name, clearing
the layer of the sand particles and in process takes out the mask that it had
been covered with, and the fire inside them glows. In a matter of seconds, we
know few elements that are going to be crucial part of the film; sand and the
scorching heat it has hided, the perfection of Mirza’s arrows, and lastly fire,
which originates not only from the surroundings, but also from Mirza’s
arrows.
We
are then taken into the alleys where Abba Ji (Late Om Puri Saab) with a mischievous
smile on his face begins the prologue of a sort for the film
“लोहारों की गली है यह,
यह गली है लोहारों की,
हमेशा दहका करती है....यहां पर गरम लोहा जब पिघलता है,
सुनहरी आग बहती है,
कभी चिंगारियां उड़ती हैं भट्ठी से कि जैसे वक्त मुट्ठी खोल कर लमहे उड़ाता है। सवारी मिर्जा की मुड़ कर यहीं पर लौट आती है। लोहारों की बस्ती फिर किस्सा साहिबां का सुनाती है...सुना है दास्तां उनकी गुजरती एक गली से तो हमेशा टापों की आवाजें आती हैं”
The
lanes of blacksmiths are eternally surrounded by fire, the melted iron sparks
the golden embers with utter luminosity. The flying embers are then compared to
a situation where time unfolds its fist, and let go of certain moments. Mirza,
then returns to the same lane, so that the alleys of blacksmiths retells the
tale of Mirza’s immortal love for Sahiba. It is a legend, that when their story
is retold, the area remains enclosed with the sound of clatter of hoofs. Gulzar
Saab, in many of his poems have used blacksmiths as an important element, and
constructed words similarly as blacksmiths constructs various articles made of
iron. The importance of this prologue provides us a hint, that the tale of
Mirza-Sahiba that we are going to be told is legendary in that lane, the
ancestors of the village might have witnessed the story in front of their eyes,
and that’s how it was passed from one generation to another. The people of the
lane are the actual narrators of the Mirza Sahiba story, they just associate
that tale to the lives of Monish and Suchitra.
An
interesting aspect regarding the film is its title, which I found quite
intriguing, my first reaction was why ‘Mirzya’, and why not simply ‘Mirza’. The
only occasion in the film, where Sahiba actually utters a word, was a loud and concerned
“Mirzya”, to simply address her apprehension of Mirza’s wellbeing. It occurred
to me, that the name Mirzya is simply used as a colloquial form of Mirza. The
name Mirza originates from Persian roots, and simply denotes the rank of a
royal prince or a military commander. The “Ya’ suffixed in Mirzya denotes the exclamation
form of the name, and subtly hints at the Punjabi background of the tale. A
similar case can be observed in case of Sahiba, which is more respectfully
pronounced as Sahiban, so the names from the folk tale of Mirza Sahiban are
used in much more conversational form, because Mirzya, the film tries to convey
about how they felt for each other at certain circumstances, and how their love
saga is perceived by the people. In a way, it would be very apt to say that for
the world, they were Mirza-Sahiban, but personally he was her Mirzya, and she
was his Sahiba.
The
similar use of colloquial form of “Ishq” can be observed in Abhishek Chaubey’s “Ishqiya”
series. The film is set in Uttar Pradesh, and the reason I believe the word “Ishqiya”
is used in an altogether different manner and sense is because it does not
represent the “Ishq” of an individual, but it embodies different aspects of
love, and another major factor that can also be attributed to the use of the
word “Ishqiya” is that, it seems far more suitable to correlate the word in
metaphorical sense with quite often used word “Chutiya” in the film.
I
loved Mirzya, yes, despite its flaws, I immensely enjoyed watching this film,
and when I decided that I’ll try and put up a lengthy blog post about the film,
I thought, I’ll go a slight different way, instead of writing about the film in
a typical non-linear way, I’ll try and separate the two parallel tracks, and
treat them as individual stories, and the focus to correlate the similarities
between the two world will be done when I try and write about the modern tale, this
post is an attempt to delve more deeply on the individual appeal of the
referenced Mirza Sahiban story to me as a viewer.
Mirza-Sahiba’s
story starts in a battle field, in a timeless world where a game of papingo is
being played, the participants and their arrows are trying endlessly to strike
the artificial bird, and win Sahiba’s heart, but the intensity and the focus of
Mirza’s arrow is unmatched, the presence of which can easily be felt with the
kind of artistic perfection with which it hits the aim (that particular shot of
Mirza’s arrow piercing through another arrow is splendidly shot).
We
then get introduced to the man behind the flawless airstrikes, through the
voice of Daler Mehndi, and through the perspective of Sahiba, who appears to be
only waiting for him to come into the battle field and impress everyone with
his skills “औरा दे हत्थी बर्चियाँ,
मिर्जे दे तीर कमान,
ओह देखो किंवे औंदा,
मेरा मिर्ज़ा शेर जवान”
it appears to me that she is proudly pronouncing to the world that the man she
was waiting for has finally come to the field. The other warriors are equipped
with javelins, but My Mirza along with his bow and arrows comes roaring like a
lion. Sahiba knew Mirza, and this why she is able to express about him so
vividly.
The
game can also be assumed to be some sort of a Swayamvar for Sahiban, the final
task is to take out the red ruby hanging on the javelin, Mirza falls short to
reach the javelin, but is able to take the red ruby. Once, Mirza actually wins
the battle, we hear “हो कण लम्हे ख़ुर्र पतले,
हो दम बक्की दी सियाह,
हो बक्की तों दारण फ़रिश्ते,
मिर्जे तो डरे खुदा”,
which can be interpret as the vital role, “बक्की”
, the beautiful and strong black horse on which Mirza rides like a prince plays
in creating his impressive aura. The later line describes the importance of “बक्की”
as someone who is fearless, that even the saints of death fear him, which adds
to power of Mirza, which can even make God fear him for his perfection in
hitting the arrow on his envisioned target.
Mirza,
then comes closer to Sahiba, and offers her the red ruby, with the most
innocent of smile, I loved that moment, because minutes earlier, he was that
intense warrior who was flaunting his perfection and fortress, but now when he
is in front of his love, he is blushing with a bit of hesitancy in approaching
her. That’s what love actually does, it makes us more human in this cynical
world, and that unconditional love we carry for someone makes the journey of
life, a bit less tedious.
There
is a trans like moment shared between the two of them, where Sahiba drops a red
color cloth in front of Mirza’s bow, its such a personal moment from the
viewpoint of Sahiba, the red cloth symbolizes Sahiba’s consent to spent her
life with Mirza irrespective of what her brothers decide, the trans like state
represents the communication between the two of them in front of a large number
of people with weapons in their hands. He takes the red cloth, and rides away without
getting into any sort of bloodshed, the withdrawal of his aimed arrow is not a sign
of weakness or fear of death, but in a longer sense agreeing to Sahiba’s view,
and promising her that he will come to take her away.
That
eventually sets the premise for the next song, where Sahiba’s brothers has
finalized a groom for her, and are in the middle of showering their blessings
to her. Sahiba’s mind is elsewhere though, she is pinning to be with Mirza, and
that yearning causes her to question not only the reliability of Mirza’s
promise but also the way society perceives love. “पूछ ना पेंदे मामले,
हाय लइयो ना लभदे कोल,
हो गल्ला करन सखलियाँ,
गल्ला करन सखलियाँ,
औखे पालन बोल”
she desires to tell her brothers that the matters of love does not work on
commands and particulars, they work on understanding and belief, being together
with someone does not guarantee getting close with them at some point of time,
and at this point, she thinks about Mirza’s promise, and wants to tell the
world that in matters of love, talking is easy, but keeping your words is
difficult, but he keeps his promise, and returns back to his Sahiba and takes
her into the wildernesses.
I
was quite surprised by the way Rakeysh Mehra and Gulzar saab portrayed the brief
intimacy between the couple, Mirza falls near the shore of a river and drinks
water, like an animal (reminiscence of Ved from Tamasha) once he is done, he rests
on ground momentarily, only to be taken aback by the beauty of Sahiba. It’s
quite a wonderful moment, because of the fact that there are no dialogues or
song involved, just a sensuous background score slowly scattering around the
scene, and the eyes of Sahiba. Mirza drinking water represents his thirst in
physical form, whereas Sahiba’s thirst for intimacy solely relies on her long
stares and the sexuality in her eyes, and once he notices those long seductive
gazes, he is awe of her beauty, she then stands in the middle of the river
waiting for him, the use of the water here is a sort of metaphor to encapsulate
the thought that even the water passing through that particular land could not
quench the fire ragging inside them to get closer to one another. The slight
hint of arrogance in their act to fulfill the need of physical proximity lies
on the fact of defiance of the rule of nature.
They
find a place to get some rest, and suddenly Sahiba see a terrifying vision of
her brothers coming back to avenge their lost pride. She is terrified by the
way Mirza defends both of them, each arrow that leaves his bow does not miss
his target, and one by one, she sees Mirza’s arrow piercing through her
brothers’ bodies. She wakes up horrified with the image of an arrow going
through his youngest brother, she looks around feeling panicked, she is
confirmed of the situation that if her brothers come, Mirza will not hesitate
to defend their love with his arrows, she looks around the arrows, and with
heavy heart starts breaking them. This decision of Sahiba can be speculated
through several aspects, she was hopeful that if and when her brothers caught
them, they will initiate a dialogue instead of trying to kill both of them, she
expected her brothers to understand the love both of them shared, hence in an
act of innocence without realizing the harsh consequences, she starts breaking
Mirza’s arrows. It’s like she was stuck between the patriarchal mentality of
her brothers and the arrogance of Mirza. Often termed as an act of “Betrayal”
(which I personally loathe), Sahiba’s misjudgment to trust a principle of basic
level of humanity cost her everything.
When
the nightmare turns out to be true, Bakki’s loud roar wakes Mirza up, and with
the last unbroken arrow he gets his hands on, Sahiba witnesses the destruction,
she can sense her world coming to an end from both sides, and once Mirza
realizes that she broke all of the other remaining arrows while he was asleep, the
moment he turns towards her to look directly into her eye and demand an explanation, that moment felt like an infinity, I wonder in that microsecond, what
hundred thoughts must have crossed his mind, did he also considered her actions as an act of betrayal, when he finally sets his eyes
on her, he his heartbroken, devastated, and only has one question in his eyes
before he submits to his fate.
Why
did you break those arrows?
The
last song we hear is on the behalf of a messenger of god, a word of advice for
Mirza, which I felt was one of the saddest lines written in Hindi films in a
long time, “फा पाए ना इश्क दा,
ऐ रस्सी लम्मी मिर्जया,
हो साहिबान ते ना लभनी,
तू फेर ना जम्मी मिर्जया”
which can be interpreted as do not the tie the knot of love Mirzya, the rope is
too long and fragile to handle the patriarchy of the society, you will never be
able to find your Sahiba, do not come again looking for your Sahiba, try and
suppress the birth of another Mirza in your next life. The rationalization
behind this word of advice is the look we see on the face of Mirza, a sense of
calmness prevails over the pain of separation, that look is also suggestive of
this idea that Mirza knows that the love he had for Sahiba will coming back
from one life to another in any form. Hence, the song is sort of plea from God
to Mirza to finally let go of his love.
The
end of Mirza Sahiba story culminates with a last hug from Sahiba to her love,
and mother nature’s salute to the warrior by dropping white flowers on him.
Throughout
the plot, we never get to know about the background of either of the two
characters, and the fact that we do not see Sahiba dying in the arms of Mirza,
this feels like a perfect node to the original legendary folk tale, the
incompleteness associated with it. Mirza dies without getting an answer from
Sahiba, he does not find his closure, similarly Sahiba does not get a chance to
explain her actions, so the whole point of betrayal feels a bit mis-constructed.
She too does not get her closure, merely labelling her actions based on this
single act as betrayal feels too harsh on her. I read this theory that the all
the other iconic folk tales from the land of Punjab have the girl name placed
initially, but in case of Mirza Sahiba, the name of the boy is given preference
over the other name, because it was the him who was betrayed by the girl, I somehow
was not able to understand the rationalization behind the theory, because in a
way, they both die without getting their much deserved closure, the betrayal
was done on the behalf of society who failed them as people unconditionally in
love with each other. I believe her name not being placed before Mirza signifies our incapability as a society that failed to notice the magnitude of the decision she took, a difficult one.
May
be the calmness in Mirza, moments before his death was due to the idea that defined
his belief in love, मरता नहीं इश्क ओ मिर्ज़ा,
सदियाँ साहिबान रहती हैं
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