Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar - (dub)
History on rewind!

The architect of the Indian constitution comes back to real life through director Jabbar Patel’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The film narrates the story of Ambedkar’s trip to the UK and US in connection with his studies, his fight to finish the caste system and his difference of opinion with Mahatma Gandhi on many issues. The character of Ambedkar has always been confined to history books and this book brings it back to life, highlighting his heroism and the values he stood for. Jabbar Patel has put a great deal of effort into conceiving the central character with conviction and it is strongly felt on screen. Though the film has received an average response at the b-o, it will no doubt be viewed by the thousands who blindly worship him and throng his cemetery in Mumbai on December 6 every year. The tax free status for the film will help the poorer sections in the audience too.

The film revolves around Ambedkar’s (Mammooty) youth spent studying in the US and London. It traces how he found it easier to enunciate his ideas abroad than in India, of being a mahar on par with the shudras. The film also brings back memories of how even the highly-educated Ambedkar ran into the ugly face of the caste system that prevailed during the pre-Independence era, and how he sacrificed his personal and family life for the upliftment of the poor. The film does show that Ambedkar went through greater humiliation than Mahatma Gandhi to know and understand the real pain of the untouchables.

The film does not dwell much on Ambedkar’s personal life, focussing instead on his growth as the leader of the dalits and buddhists. The emphasis is more on enlightening the present generation on his struggles for the sake of the dalits. The scenes of clashes between Ambedkar and Gandhi (Mohan Gokhale) are portrayed well and draw claps from the audience. In fact, Gandhi had dubbed Ambedkar as a traitor and British agent and sought to curb his political influence, for his decision to renounce Hinduism and embrace Buddhism.

Mammooty excels himself as Dr Ambedkar, and truly deserved the national award conferred on him for the role. He has effectively underplayed the character, and it seems he has done a great deal of research before going for the shoots. He handles the confrontation scenes with Gandhi quite well. Mohan Gokhale as Gandhi does a fair job in the acting department, though he appears hardly convincing in his looks as Gandhi. Sonali Kulkarni as Ambedkar’s second wife is impressive, but sadly, she doesn’t have much of a footage in the film.

Jabbar Patel does an excellent work as director. The film cannot be called a masterpiece, owing to some of its technical lapses, but Patel has managed to complete the film without ruffling many feathers. While Sooni Taraporewala, Arun Sadhu and Daya Pawar’s script is commendable, the same cannot be said for their screenplay. Too many intercuts and flashbacks add to the jerks in the story. Ashok Mehta’’s cinematography is excellent, as is Nitin Desai’s art direction, which effectively recreates the pre-Independence ambience.

Padmaraj Nair


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