Twinn Swan

Last night, I watched the Bengali film Juwa with English subtitles. It is the third Bengali film I attempted watching this week and it gripped my attention for it is one of those stories that is so familiar–not necessarily for its cinematic value–but for its social criticism.

At the heart of the film is the story of a man by the name of Sadhu Charan. He is an honest and hardworking–albeit gullible man–who is duped, tricked and misled time and again when it comes to work and to business. He doesn’t realise that although he has very little, there are still crooks out there who are out to get him.

The movie got me wondering: is going after our ambitions always a wise choice? For every man who finds his fortune, yet another man finds nothing but misfortune. Even though Sadhu is a poor man, what little he has also gets taken away from him because he chooses to follow his ambitions.

It all begins, as it does, with a dream. The humble farmer Sadhu dreams of his son becoming a doctor and his younger sister marrying into a good family. In many ways, this is a common dream. But to those who have neither tasted nor experienced ‘good fortune’, it is not a common dream, but a pipe dream. For someone who has grown up in the city, there is nothing grandiose Sadhu’s dream. It is a dream that we all know because it is a common one. I’d like to have the opportunity to get a wonderful job and a good spouse. Who doesn’t?

To achieve these things, however, Sadhu requires more money, which he doesn’t have. And if he remains a farmer, he will certainly never achieve his financial goals. For some reason, Sadhu ends up taking part in a political rally to give farm workers more rights. When his boss–the landowner–finds out that Sadhu took part in a political rally would dispossess the landowner of his own land, Sadhu is immediately fired. Prior to this incident, the landowner is a fair and generous boss. The boss’ wife tells her husband not to fire Sadhu. It is the compassionate response for she knows that it would create hardship on his family as well.

We all know it. In the corporate world, it is the bottomline that matters. An employee that is hardworking but not necessarily loyal is not an employee worth having. If an employee has been treated well and he goes against the boss, he will not be rewarded for his ambition. As I’m watching the film, I can’t help but conclude that taking part in the political rally was not a wise decision.

When Sadhu realises that he has lost his job, he decides to try his luck in the city. He takes his family with him. When he gets there, he runs into this Babla character, who is a through and through trickster figure. He pretends to be Sadhu’s friend, when he is taking–bit by bit–what little Sadhu has. When a man is poor, he doesn’t often stop to realise or even acknowledge the riches that he already has. In his attempt to gain more, he can flatten what little he had and reduce it to nothing. Is the gamble worth it?

In the end, Sadhu’s son is abducted by kidnappers courtesy of Babla. Sandhu’s son has his eyes and an internal organ removed. The scene is difficult to watch for the loss that occurs is one that cannot be reversed. After the illegal operation, the boy is sent to the street to beg for money.

But Babla isn’t done yet. He won’t stop till he takes everything that Sadhu has. Next, Babla decides to sell Sadhu’s sister into prostitution. But by this time, however, all has been revealed. A colleague of Sadhu reveals to him what an utter crook this Babla character is. When it hits on him, the normally sweet, shy and polite Sadhu flies into a rage. He takes a knife and heads to the brothel. When he arrives, he sees Babla trying to rape his sister, whom he manages to safe just in time before the dreadful deed could take place.

In a fit of rage, Sadhu kills Babla. It is a cathartic moment. The triumph of good over evil. But this is not the kind of movie where you get to see that happy ending. Instead, you know that he’s going to get into trouble for standing up for himself because you know that this is how the world works.

The police arrive and Sadhu ends up in prison. He is given a sentence of 14 years. In his absence, his sister commits suicide and his wife ends up marrying a rich man who is able to give her all the material wealth in the world, but zero happiness.

Is the trade-off worth it?

Ah well… For every rags to riches story, there is a story out there that tries to tell the reality and warns of the danger of ambition. Ambition can lead us into taking risks. This risk-taking, in turn, can lead us to lose what little we have. We may not have much to begin with, but sometimes in reaching for more, we lose what little we have.

Is this a reality or a fact of life? Does taking a risk pay off? Or are we better off appreciating what we already have?

Some people are willing to take that risk. Some people are willing to make that sacrifice. Others, however, are perfectly content to stay where they are because they know that by taking a chance and taking a risk they could very well end up losing what little they have.

Watching this movie, I am reminded that there is nothing wrong with dreaming big. But when it comes to taking risks, don’t trust a guy like Babla. He will, indeed, sell your soul to the devil.