after my request of watching marathi movie deool(temple) got rejected by friends, i decided i will go and watch it alone. before you guys think i am crazy, let me clarify this was just the first time. though i dont regret watching it alone. i really enjoyed the whole experience. i had no idea what the movie was really about. i just knew that it had nana patekar, dilip prabhavalkar, and naseerudin shah and that was reason enough to watch it. also i had heard the movie had gone for various festivals abroad and had received nice reviews. to write i need an inspiration, deoul inspired me and made me think.

the movie is about a small typical village in maharashtra, which is struggling to get its daily dose of electricity and water. its about how the construction of a temple changes the whole course of the village. kesha one of the main characters of the movie happens to have a vision of god gurudutta in a tree. when he sees that vision he thinks that dutta is in it and so he goes all around the village telling everyone about his great finding. early on people dont believe him, nana patekar who plays the village politician brushes the whole story. nana patekar plays the typical politician who doesnt do any work for the development of the village. anna played by dilip prabhavalkar is an educated man retired from his job and has come down to the village to make a difference. when kesha comes running to anna to tell him about his vision. anna warns him to not tell it to many people.as people will laugh at him or just not take it in the right spirit .he says that such occurrences do happen as god is nature and vice versa . he tells him that everyone should find his own god and even if someone doesnt want to find him it doesnt make him wrong. but its too late. some party workers and their friend in media put this news in the newspaper. slowly the news spread everywhere like wild fire and minister tells nana patekar to build a temple. before this occurrence anna has plans of making a hospital in the village and nana patekar(bhau) supports it. but as soon as he gets a call from his senior he builds the temple. building a temple turns this small silent village into a circus. school teachers vanish form the schools,everyone one gives up farming and put up shops ranging from flowers to movie dvds.hotels are built in places of farms for the devotees to stay. dirty money flows from everywhere. they bring up a joker and call him and tell people that hes been sitting here for ages, to get that baba’s mantra people are ready to pay insane amounts of money. donations are taken from every villager in the name of god. basically a innocent man’s vision is transformed into a multi-crore business. meanwhile the educated anna who wants to build a hospital goes back to bangalore. he realises that the path this village has taken theres no way of coming back. he gives up.

the movie asks you some important questions. it leaves the finding of answers upto us. how should development be defined? is it just defined by money? or should it be defined by education, hospitals, great farming facilities,roads,etc.should god be a mere statue in a temple, and should going and touching his feet solve all our problems. does giving 10,000 rupees in donation to temple funds really ensure our growth in life. shouldnt we be responsible to where the money is really going? how does a educated man like anna bring about changes if he is always going to be run down by corrupted politicians? the movie covers a very broad spectrum. i think a 24yr old like me would be too inexperienced to answer these questions.

i wonder how if we ever decide to bring a change will we be able to do it. will we always be hit by a wall? will we give up like anna did? or will we fight the system and move ahead? my favorite line of the movie comes in a scene between nana patekar(bhau) and prabhavalkar (anna) , anna asks bhau, ” after 1000 years when archaeologists find our remains i wonder if they will be proud of what they find?” ( the opening scene of the movie starts with a archaeological site, they seemed to be doing a research as they find some remains of the harappa civilization)

its very difficult to keep sane in this tamasha of cricket,religon,media,bollywood,reality shows and what not. i just hope that as god is for sale now anyway will we be fools enough to sell happiness in a packet. i hope not.

watch deoul and find your own questions. i think i have found mine!

p.s. all my non marathi friends its a movie with english subtitles so you will enjoy it too. do watch it!!! ..:)