At a time when Swachh Bharat campaign is capturing the imagination of the country, Dr. Biju’s Perariyathavar (Names Unknown) quietly makes its way to select theatres in Delhi with English subtitles. The film gives a face to nameless sweepers, the manual scavengers, who keep our surroundings clean and lends them rare grace and dignity. The film looks at the world from the eyes of the son of one such sweeper played by Suraj Venjaramood, who shared the National Award for Best Actor last year with Rajkumar Rao. It is a performance that made the chairman of the jury Saeed Mirza reflect that he would have not been able to go to sleep had his incredibly dignified performance not made it to the list of awardees. Ironically, Suraj, who is bracketed as a mere mimicry artist in his home State, was not feted in Kerala for his reticent turn.
Biju’s film not only makes a Dalit central to the narrative but also breaks a lot of stereotypes associated with the characterisation of people from the marginalised sections of the country. They are usually shown as loud creatures angry towards the system, mostly on the verge of revolt.
Here the sweeper is definitely a man of action. He cleans the roads not only as a part of his job but it is something that he likes to do when he is just strolling down the road with his son. It is something inbuilt in him. When he goes to the nearby pond to wash his clothes he takes out the polythene bags dumped in water. But what will he do about the industrial waste being dumped into the water bodies or the boy on the bike who spits on the road which he and his team has just mopped. Does he shout at the guy’s brazenness? No, he just moves on.
Biju quietly tells us that sanitation has nothing to do with education and social status. Having lost his wife, perhaps it is his son that keeps him going. He is not unduly perturbed about not being able to buy the toys that his son aspires for. Instead he creates interesting playthings for him from the garbage strewn around. He doesn’t mind taking him along on his cleanliness drive.
Along the way, Biju comments on a number of allied issues. Be it dumping city waste in rural areas, tribal land rights, the price of development or the safety of girl child, the film touches many relevant points without striking a strident note. When somebody asks from the background that why no rich man has to forego his residential space to contribute to the widening of the road it makes you smile at the contrasts some people have to negotiate in this country. Or the bandmaster who is trying hard to keep the art going by admonishing his members to focus on rehearsal even when there is little incentive to play.
The film won the award for the best film on conservation and environment but as Biju says that is limiting the sweep of the film. “It is about the plight of marginalised. How they have been pushed to the corner in the name of development and it is not just in cities.” The villages are feeling the impact of lopsided policies as well as his protagonist discovers in the second half of the film. “And it is not limited to Kerala. The whole country is going through this churning,” says Biju.
On the gentle silence of his protagonist, Biju says, “He is so used to indifference of the society that he doesn’t react to people and situations any more. This has been the condition of the Dalits in the State,” notes Biju.
Suraj met with an accident some years back and got multiple stitches on his arm. Biju has used the scars with telling effect. “I thought the scars will go well with the character. When I discussed with him he readily agreed. It is the first time that he has revealed them on screen.” Biju subtly weaves them into the story as when the son touches them the father feels the pain as if some past wounds haven’t healed yet. “Suraj has given a lot to the film. I felt he won’t be comfortable with garbage but the way he mingled with the garbage it reflected as if he has grown up in it.”
When Suraj asks his friend with leftist leanings, why is he always on a dharna and when does he work, the film softly comments on the State’s reputation for closing down almost every month on the call of some union or political outfit. “The strikes have been going on. Even at present there is a strike going on for the rights of tribal people but they have not been able to yield any positive result,” maintains Biju. The film also comments on high liquor consumption in the State and Biju says right now prohibition is also a big issue.
Despite winning two National Awards the film has not released in Kerala yet. “The multiplex boom is still in its infancy in the State and single screen theatres want to run only action and comedy oriented films. They feel there is no audience to watch the marginalised,” laments Biju, whose next film will deal with the issue of pesticides.
A homeopath by training, Biju, who is known for his potent trilogy on terrorism, is still working as district medical officer and despite all the critical acclaim as a filmmaker he is in no mood to resign. “Filmmaking is a passion and not a profession for me.”
