What will happen to 'Sairat' when it is appropriated by Bollywood?

Around this time two years ago, Indian audiences were spellbound by Nagraj Manjule's Sairat its likeable young lovers, brash heroine, quiet hero, symphonic music, the resoundingly silent finale, and the infectious beats of Zingaat' that refused to fade.

But there was one person who expressed deep disappointment with the Marathi blockbuster. And as I watch the heated debates on social media over Sairat's upcoming Hindi remake Dhadak, I am reminded of historian-author Mukul Kesavan's take on the film: "It [Sairat] was like QSQT [Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak] remade by Mahesh Bhatt in his desi-realist avatar, he had told me then.

The statement has the potential to kindle mass outrage.

But looking at it dispassionately, perhaps Kesavan's statement explains the film's remakeability, and why Karan Johar and Shashank Khaitan would risk taking a shot at such a favourite. You can read the film, like I did back then, as a subversion of the familiar filmi trope with its engagement with tricky issues of caste and gender. Or you can just ignore all the hoo-ha, zoom in and run away with the winning formula' at the core.

Real vs. myth

I had asked Manjule about this subversion, about portraying the campus and friends as real rather than glamourised. "Bollywood subverted the real to create stereotypes and myths, he shot back. So will Bollywood now subvert Sairat in Dhadak?

The outspoken Naseeruddin Shah expressed his misgivings in an earlier interview to The Hindu: "...the young man who made Fandry and Sairat, I fear for him. What wonderful movies he made! Doesn't he realise what Bollywood is going to do to Sairat? I dread to think of what they'll do to the film.

Can things be so dire that a film is roundly dismissed even before it is seen? Or can we hope that it however synthetically will mainstream the idea of classical' passion that has of late been confined to the margins? The exalted archetypes of Laila-Majnu have either been done away with or reinvented to fit contemporary time and place (Ishaqzaade, a case in point). And so Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Love Story and QSQT have, over the years, given way to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Shuddh Desi Romance, Tamasha and Jab Harry Met Sejal etc.

"Caste is the foundation of our society. It's a reality that you need to have a special talent to avoid. Bollywood has that talent, I don't. The only divide in Bollywood is of class, Manjule had said, talking about what set Sairat apart.

Changing love

However, of late, far from addressing caste or religion, even class divisions (a la Bobby, Julie) have been diminishing. Love isn't even about overcoming parental hurdles. Taking up from where Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge left off and stoked by the times we live in love has become mostly about reconciliation rather than rebellion. It isn't about external hindrances but internal conflicts, the myriad journeys physical and metaphorical to self-actualisation, to conquer the inner demons that come in the way of love (they could be issues of age, sexuality or gender).

There's an odd Highway where the protagonists battle as much with themselves as with their social backgrounds, escaping to a Utopia only to get contained again in the banal. Or a Mukkabaaz. But would you call it a pure love story? Or a film about boxing that is also about false nationalism and politics and casteism. It's in this scenario that Dhadak seems like an interesting albeit calculated departure, especially coming from the banner that is behind the plush, cushy romances that we've been consuming of late.