Omung is out at the box office with
the latest Friday take on rape. Before this is perceived as a trivialising
rape, let me hasten to add that our cinema is perhaps doing just that. The
trauma around rape is getting portrayed with the same regularity as lost
brothers in the Manmohan Desai era. It sure shocks, stuns and screams but in
the process, it gets self-defeatist and creates an inoculated sensitivity to
the people. While the theme is exclusively the prerogative of the maker, its
reiteration is invariably seen in a context and lurks the question.
The story line is linear as is the treatment. Stripped of any layers it deals
with an alcoholic Dad Arun (Sanjay Dutt – in his comeback vehicle – oh artists
hate the expression come back. They see it as an accusation) dotes on his
daughter Bhoomi (Aditi Hydari Rao). All is fine in the town till neighbour
Vishal proposes to Bhoomi just before her marriage to Neeraj (Sidhant Gupta –
who dances with a lot of grace). Her refusal of the offer leads to her being
drugged and gang raped with the assistance and under the leadership of local
villain Dhauli (Sharad Kelkar). The law only increases the trauma with evidence
being painstakingly loaded against the victim. With the guilty out in the open
the father and daughter embark on the path of vendetta. The manner in which
they avenge the rapists and torture the viewer with their bizarre third-degree
approach is what makes the script of the film.
Kaabil, Mom, Mitr… there is a list of endless recent films that deal with rape
and with parental support to the victim. Thus far it has been the Mom, now it
is the Dad. That much for novelty. While the audience laps up the heroics of
the victims avenging the accused, it raises serious issues on how we are
tackling the challenge on hand. We seem to have an entire chapter of our cinema
which seems to suggest, any advocate the cause of anarchy and the method of the
victim deciding to take law into his/her hands (specially, if they are
muscular). This preaching of anarchy and disbelief in the legal system perhaps
has a context but is it a conscious statement or is it one of convenience. The
film is also marred by the fact that Sanjay cannot get his act together nor can
Aditi. Both are contrived to a fault and just do not get enough empathy. I also
have a serious issue with the manner in which we deal so callously with serious
issues including juvenile justice – that makes the film a tad juvenile.
L. Ravichander.