When I watched Masaan for the first time, I was not impressed. The film seemed plotless, repetitive and unnecessarily slow.
I recently revisited Masaan with a fresh perspective and it was an overwhelming experience.
Neeraj Ghaywan’s impressive directorial debut Masaan is set in the city of Varanasi. The title of the film is a Hindi word for burning ground or crematorium which reflects the Hindu belief, that the departed soul achieves salvation, if the funeral rites are performed beside the river of Ganga.
The film follows the contrasting lives of Devi and Deepak, who are connected with life and death.
Ghaywan weaves together caste, gender, and grief in the narrative, which unfolds with time. Each narrative, laced with pain and grief, takes the audience through a labyrinth of emotions.
The film begins with the story of Devi Pathak, an upper-caste Brahmin girl whose life turns upside down when she is caught with her boyfriend in a hotel room. The corrupt cop takes advantage of the situation and threatens to publicly defame devi for a bribe.
Brahmin identity does not save Devi from humiliation or her father from the endless debt he owed the police.
Devi’s boyfriend, out of humiliation, attempts suicide, leaving Devi with the burden of grief and guilt.
Deepak, on the other hand, belongs to the Dalit (low-caste/untouchable community in India) family of the Dom profession (corpse burner). Deepak is ambitious and aspires to become an engineer, eagerly anticipating the life that awaits him.
The film is set during a period of transition. When old beliefs and customs were shifting and a new generation was taking control.
Devi, who resents her father and blames him for her mother’s death, and Deepak, who cannot escape his Dalit fate and burns dead bodies at the ghat every day, both desire to escape their small town.
Deepak’s life changes when he falls in love with Shalu, a Brahmin girl. Their love blossoms despite the caste differences, but the brief joy wanes off when Shalu dies in a tragic bus incident.
Masaan is a subtle yet powerful commentary on caste hierarchies within Indian society. The bodies of the bus accident victims and Shalu end up in the same ghat where Deepak’s family works.
Deepak’s grief intensifies when he cremates his lover’s dead body in the ghat. He had no choice but to adhere to tradition; he could not separate himself from his Dalit reality. The scene highlights the cruelty of the caste system in India.
Deepak and Devi both handle grief and loss differently, While Devi struggles with expressing emotions and internalizes her suffering. Deepak on the other hand shares his pain with his friends and cries his heart out.
With impending grief comes closure sometimes it takes months, sometimes years or never happens in one’s lifetime.
Deepak holds on to the ring he had bought for Shalu until one day he throws it in the river. He jumps into the river but returns defeated, that’s when the burden lifts off his shoulders.
Devi’s resentment towards her father intensifies after the incident further straining their relationship. The troubled father and daughter relationship and emotional distance is yet another form of grief explored in the film.
Neeraj seamlessly transitions between different narratives which are interlinked with gender, caste and poverty without ever breaking the rhythm of the film.
Sadhya Devi’s colleague at the new workplace offers her kheer that his father made for him. when Devi asks about where his father lives Sadhya ji humorously responds I live with my father. My father lives alone and then proceeds to explain what he meant — He lives alone during the day when I go to work
This conversation changes her perception and relationship with her father. Devi realizes that her father sacrificed all his life for her and loves her deeply. No amount of blaming and resenting her father would heal the absence of her mother.
When Devi Leaves for Allahabad for a job position. She stops by the ghat in the city and finally finds closure as she floats the gift box that Piyush gave her. She for the first time cries open-heartedly, while Deepak who was present coincidentally watches her.
The film concludes on a beautiful note as the two narratives finally assemble on a ghat of another city. The boatman offers them a ride. Both climb onto the boat, and the boat metaphorically moves symbolising Devi and Deepak’s new chapter in life and leaving behind the pain of grief and guilt in the past.
The sun hangs low in the sky, warm golden line glides on the water as Man kasturi rey continues in the background.
