What Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium teaches us about privilege and class divide
Many may argue that films with social and moral lessons are a passé, but the recently released Hindi Medium is one such exception that surpassed my expectations. More than a social commentary, the film has made me think on the very tenets that constitute our being.
The two key takeaways from the movie for me, a serious movie-goer, is its depiction of privilege and how it divides people.
The film unequivocally critiques the present-day society and its follies with its narrowing definition of terms like "privilege", "equality", and "sharing". Raj (played by Irrfan Khan) and his wife Mita played by Saba Qamar, a nouveau riche couple, are desperately seeking admission for their child in one of the elite Delhi schools.
Determination of the dotting parents stem from a life of inadequacy, which according to them was because of their education in a government school. Perhaps they are right, one should not be surprised if tomorrow an RTI query reveals that the number of students from government schools making it big in life are dwindling.
As part of the parents’ grooming, the consultant here asks them to parrot a few keywords to impress the school principals who would be interviewing them. Incidentally, those essential phrases includes "caring is sharing".
They were asked how would they teach their child about poverty. While both of them are wonderstruck at first, minutes later Raj idly says, “Why do we need to teach poverty, just look around.”
The not-so-surprised consultant insists that they simply answer by saying "caring is sharing" with a wry smile.
The nonchalance of the consultant and the over-zealousness of the parents, according to me, evoke the most troubling facet of the times we live in.
We have come this far only to reduce qualities like compassion and empathy to mere fancy words. Yes indeed, we are in a world of slit-throat competition, approvals based on "likes" and "comments" on even the most trivial happenings in our lives.
Privilege is further accentuated when Raj and his wife disguise as a family that stays in a slum quarter to obtain admission for their daughter under the poor quota in the posh Delhi Grammar School. Later, their interaction with Deepak Dobriyal, who plays a factory worker with a heart of gold, shows the reluctance and incredulity of the rich towards the working poor.
Circumstances change and Raj and his wife realise that Deepak’s son too has applied for the same school under the "poor quota" as their daughter.
Circumstances unite, class divides
There is a stark realism in depicting the lopsidedness of a system that make children born to the rich, a beneficiary of clout all the while obfuscating even the slimmest chance of a better life for those born into underprivileged families.
Hindi Medium intents no infamy to any community, occupation or class. It relies heavily on projecting the divide in the most palpable way and making its viewers ponder upon the abject realties around.
The film in a way reinstates popularly held beliefs that virtues like honesty, sympathy and integrity are for the downtrodden while the rich are ruthless and tyrannical.
In one of the scenes, where Raj makes an unsuccessful attempt to work in a factory, Deepak gives a share of his earning saying that it was bad to leave for home empty-handed. Similarly, Mita gets into a brawl with a shopkeeper and has to leave without buying food supply. However, Deepak’s wife gives a portion from her groceries.
An exasperated Mita later tells Raj, “They know how bad it is to sleep hungry.”
Desperation and acceptance
The film is replete with several instances that invoke class divide. For instance even before disguising as a poor couple dwelling in a shanty, Raj and Mita on a different occasion are seen clothed in an array of branded articles to impress the parents’ trainer.
Raj, who claims to have amassed wealth, by making original copies of branded bridal wear, seems to be a content man. On the other hand, Mita who comes across as a feisty Chandni Chowk habitant, has high aspirations and now longs for an opulent lifestyle.
Upon being asked why was there a need to relocate to a posh locality closer to their child’s probable school, Mita asserts that it was not always about having lots of money or eating good food.
The subtle pathos in the dialogues hint at the couple's desperation to climb the social ladder, be accepted and live a reasonably good life with all the comforts. Similarly, on the other hand, the film has shown the poor in a good light, although stereotypical at times.
The couple dwelling in the slums has been depicted as resigned to their own hardships.
While they pompously celebrate even the most mundane happenings, they are quick to forgive and forget. They are self-effacing and selfless, which is also a clichéd portrayal of the poor by Bollywood.
Barely a handful of films in the recent times have come closer to showing class divide in a benign yet thought-provoking way. Nil Battey Sannata, the story of a maid who joins school to encourage her teenaged daughter at the verge of dropping out of school, was the last film that interwove class divide effortlessly in its narrative.
Class divide and its relevance
Social transformation from nouveau riche to paupers, and Raj and Mita’s epiphany after realising that they snatched the right of a poor child is highly relevant today. Their ultimate acceptance and decision to admit their child in a government school after all the fuss is a bold choice, the thought of which make many of us cringe.
How many times have we stopped to think about the lives around us? A fast-paced life not only steals away our time, it also renders most of us insensitive. The social segregation on account of income has always been a serious concern, and it remains to see how many more filmmakers come forward to make use of their art to ring in change.