Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 23 : Panchayats are one of the foundations of Indian democracy and to emphasise this, National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on April 24 every year.
It denotes the decentralisation of power to ordinary people with the institutionalization of the Panchayati Raj, through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 which came into force with effect from that day.
Indian cinema has often portrayed rural politics on screen and succeeded multiple times. On the eve of National Panchayati Raj Day, let's list the movies and series which ruled our hearts and educated us about the ground realities of rural panchayats.
'Swades'
Ashutosh Gowarikar's directorial 'Swades' provides insight into the rural landscape in a beautiful way. Shah Rukh Khan, who returns from Nasa to find out his guardian, Kaveri Amma, decides to stay back in his motherland after understanding how much the nation needs him. From the caste system to the problems of Rural India this film covers it all. The movie makes us feel how even when our nation is not the most powerful nation in the world, we still have the ability to make it the world's no.1 country with honesty and hard work.
'Newton'
The movie takes you on a journey to understand how hard it is to conduct elections at a rural level. The movie featuring Pankaj Tripathi and Rajkumar Rao in lead roles delivers a strong message on the nature of elections in the countryside. The way people assumed that every other government official Newton (Rajkumar Rao) is also there to earn money makes us ponder over the roots of the bribery in politics.
'Panchayat'
The web series 'Panchayat' has given us moments to laugh, cry and think about the way people live in the countryside of the nation. The storyline is about Jitu an MBA aspirant preparing for his entrance exam while he serves as secretary in the Panchayat office of a district in Madhya Pradesh. The way Jitender Kumar (Jitu) connects with his fellow colleagues and the sarpanch of the village is a fun ride to watch as it also unfolds the ground reality of the proceedings of Panchayat.
'Bandit Queen'
The real-life story of Phoolan Devi unfolds the dark side of people in power. Thakur men who were members of panchayat and were supposed to protect people committed sexual crimes against a woman. The movie haunts you but the fact that Phoolan Devi faced this with courage will inspire you to fight against evils present in society.
'Kaagaz'
Actor Pankaj Tripathi brings us this social drama which narrates how hard it is to get official proof of your existence when the system is not ready to support you. The movie is based on a real-life incident when due to an error by Indian bureaucracy and a family tussle a person named Bharatlal Bihari was declared dead after 19 years.
'Peepli Live'
The biggest problem with rural politics is the lack of coverage from mainstream media. 'Peepli Live' is a satirical take on an event when a person trying to commit suicide unexpectedly pulls the attention of Indian media and top officials. The movie gives the limelight to the way politicians use rural politics in times of elections. The Aamir Khan productions have been thought visionary of bringing this topic up.
These projects delivered a better understanding of rural politics to the audience.
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