sushil madhuk

Kastoori -The Musk (2019)-Directed by Vinod Kamble. A brief review: In a popular folklore of deep philosophical ruminations, the deer that holds captivating fragrance of musk in its belly ,is blissfully unaware of its virtuous presence -This metaphorical motif runs through the narrative of ‘Kastoori’ -a film chronicling the journey of 14 year old Gopi ,a bright mind being consumed by the brutality of circumstances . He is a Dalit and assists his family with work of cleaning toilets and sweeping at the local hospital .In his quest to find the fragrance of life amidst stench of decaying corpses and overflowing toilets ,Gopi is joined by his best friend Adim the son of a butcher. Vinod Kamble,director brings together a simple yet poignant autobiographical account narrated through the heartbreaking innocence of Gopi caught in the vortex of existential woes . An apocryphal fable drives him to desperately seek for Kastoori to find escape from the condescending taunts of ‘ you smell like gutter’ mouthed by the privileged classmates .The subtext dealing with privilege and exploitation is thought provoking as is the subtlety of elements, organically imbued to bring out the destined despair of caste inflicted horrors .Depicting an unending struggle between hope and reality it juxtaposes the compelling reality of conflicting circumstances .Anticipated hope of being honoured on the Republic Day is crushed when the shrieking siren of ambulance brings yet another corpse for post mortem .The blood on his hands symbolises the historical wrongs of a caste ridden society .The closure of the movie is poetically wrapped in an act of self revelation.Gopi throws the perfume bottle in the choked drain and in doing so not only he accepts harsh reality and a will to fight it but also discovers the truth that the purpose of one’s life and courage to achieve it lies deep within and nowhere else . This is realism at its striking best .The content is honest to the core and feels truly a part of lived reality .Real locations and heartfelt performances add gravitas to a meticulously rolled out screenplay . Well done Vinod .We definitely need more stories to stir the society out of its ‘cognitive blindness ‘ towards these essential narratives . -S K Madhuk