Mrityudand
Encyclopedia
Mrityudand is an Indian
Hindi
movie released in 1997. It was directed and produced by Prakash Jha
and stars Madhuri Dixit
, Shabana Azmi
, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe
and Om Puri
.
The film is a commentary on social and gender injustice. As in his other movies, filmmaker Prakash Jha has focussed on the social problems that plague his native state of Bihar
, India
, and like his other movies this one straddles the boundary between art film and commercial film. The film also boasted of some semi-classical music, tuned by Anand-Milind
and Raghunath Seth
and worded by Javed Akhtar
.
The central characters are a young couple, Vinay (Ayub Khan
) and Ketki (Madhuri Dixit
). They are quickly plunged into the midst of machinations by several powerful and unscrupulous villagers. Foremost among them is contractor Tirpat Singh (Mohan Joshi), a powerful, corrupt and ruthless man who oppresses poor people and especially women with impunity. Vinay too becomes influenced by Tirpat, and under this influence spirals down a dark road of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and selfishness that alienates his loving wife and tears apart the whole family, despite her best efforts to fight this.
The rest of the movie deals with their efforts to break out of this morass, both within their relationship as well as outside of it, and Vinay's and especially Ketki's long, hard, and bloody struggle to confront and defeat the forces of oppression and male domination in the village.
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
movie released in 1997. It was directed and produced by Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha
Prakash Jha is an Indian film producer-director-screenwriter, who is most known for his political and socio-political films such as Damul , Mrityudand , Gangaajal , Apaharan and multistarrer hit movie Raajneeti...
and stars Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
, Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe
Mohan Agashe
Mohan Agashe is an Indian theatre and film actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996.-Biography:...
and Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
.
The film is a commentary on social and gender injustice. As in his other movies, filmmaker Prakash Jha has focussed on the social problems that plague his native state of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and like his other movies this one straddles the boundary between art film and commercial film. The film also boasted of some semi-classical music, tuned by Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
and Raghunath Seth
Raghunath Seth
Pandit Raghunath Seth is a noted Indian exponent of Hindustani classical music through the medium of Bansuri, or bamboo flute; he is also a noted film score composer...
and worded by Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
.
Synopsis
It is set in the fictional village of Bilaspur, Bihar in 1996. The movie starts with the grisly portrayal of a mob killing of two defenceless women, orchestrated by vested interests, and how village power players later evade administrative inquiries into this atrocity. This incident sets the tone for much of the rest of the movie.The central characters are a young couple, Vinay (Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan (actor)
Ayub Khan is an Indian actor. He is the son of Nasir Khan and Begum Para. His father is the brother of actor Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan , Ehsan Khan and Aslam Khan. His mother was the sister of Amrita Singh's mother Rukhsana Sultana...
) and Ketki (Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
). They are quickly plunged into the midst of machinations by several powerful and unscrupulous villagers. Foremost among them is contractor Tirpat Singh (Mohan Joshi), a powerful, corrupt and ruthless man who oppresses poor people and especially women with impunity. Vinay too becomes influenced by Tirpat, and under this influence spirals down a dark road of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and selfishness that alienates his loving wife and tears apart the whole family, despite her best efforts to fight this.
The rest of the movie deals with their efforts to break out of this morass, both within their relationship as well as outside of it, and Vinay's and especially Ketki's long, hard, and bloody struggle to confront and defeat the forces of oppression and male domination in the village.
Cast
- Ayub KhanAyub Khan (actor)Ayub Khan is an Indian actor. He is the son of Nasir Khan and Begum Para. His father is the brother of actor Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan , Ehsan Khan and Aslam Khan. His mother was the sister of Amrita Singh's mother Rukhsana Sultana...
as Vinay Singh - Madhuri DixitMadhuri DixitMadhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
as Phoolva - Shabana AzmiShabana AzmiShabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
as Chandravati - Om PuriOm PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
as Rambaran Manto - Shilpa ShirodkarShilpa ShirodkarShilpa Shirodkar is an Indian actress who enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1990s.-Early life:Shirodkar is the elder sister of actress and former Miss India Namrata Shirodkar. Shilpa and Namrata started their careers together, but Shilpa started with films and Namrata with modeling; and by the...
as Kanti - Mohan Joshi as Tirpat Singh
- Mohan AgasheMohan AgasheMohan Agashe is an Indian theatre and film actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996.-Biography:...
as Abhay Singh - Harish PatelHarish PatelHarish is an Indian actor. He has a relative called Himesh Patel, he is Tamwar in EastEnders. Although mainly associated with the stage, he has also appeared in comedy films and on television. He began performing at the age of seven, when he played both male and female parts in the Hindu epic...
as MLA Durga Pandey - Brij Gopal
- Abha Dhulia
- Suhas Bhalekar
- Achyut Potdar as Phoolva's father (Special Appearance)
- Mona Ambegaonkar in a Special Appearance
- Raj Kamal
- Surendra Sathi
- Sudhir MishraSudhir MishraSudhir Mishra is an Indian film director and screenwriter most renowned for directing critically acclaimed films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Dharavi and Chameli.-Early life and education:...
- Vinod KumarVinod KumarVinod Kumar or Vinodkumar is a common Indian personal name, it may refer to:* Vinod Kumar Boianapalli, is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India.* Vinod Kumar Shukla is a modern Hindi writer....
- Hemanth Gadkar
- Pinky Chinoy
- John Phanse
- Rohit Raj
- Vicky Ahuja
- Indu Shivraj
Awards
- Special Jury Award, Best Feature Film, Cinéma Tout EcranCinéma Tout EcranCinéma Tous Ecrans , is an international film festival held annually in the city of Geneva, Switzerland since 1995. The current Artistic and General Director is Claudia Durgnat....
, Geneva (1998) - Audience Award, Best Feature Film, Bangkok Film Festival (1998)
- Best Actress, Madhuri Dixit, Screen Awards (1998)
- Best Supporting Actress, Shabana Azmi, Screen Awards (1998)
- Best Actor In A Negative Role, Mohan Joshi, Screen Awards (1998)
- Best Director, Prakash Jha, Zee Cine Awards (1998)
- Best Dialogue Writer, Prakash Jha, Zee Cine Awards (1998)
- Best Sound (Re-recording), Zee Cine Awards (1998)
- Best Feature Film (Critics’ Choice), Prakash Jha, Sansui Awards (1998)
- Best Actress, Madhuri Dixit, Sansui Awards (1998)