It is rightly said that fact is stranger than fiction and it is this fictionalized version of true events that the movie Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho claims to showcase.
The film calls itself a social satire and is said to be inspired by a real life incident where a man in Rajasthan was falsely accused of raping a buffalo. Subsequently the village panchayat passes a judgement where the accused is forced to marry the animal.
It is no doubt a theatre of the absurd. The narrative flies into literal, slap stick, rustic and crude humor that would definitely cater to a certain section of the audience.
The first half is replete with titillating scenes and cowed down by some useless back stories. Miss Tanakpur is a luscious black colored pageant winning buffalo.
The main antagonist of the movie Sualaal Gandaas (Anu Kapoor) accuses the innocent village lad Arjun (Rahul Bagga) of raping Miss Tanakpur .This after he catches Arjun having an affair with his young wife Maya (Hrishita Bhatt) on the sly.
The brashness and irreverent tone of the film can still to an extent be endured but the problem arises when the humor takes a dangerous turn towards mocking rape and the whole mindset associated with it.
Parallels can be drawn between the mute buffalo tied to a corner and Maya who is forcibly silenced and literally tethered to the bed. Quite like the buffalo, Maya too is denied both a voice and an agency. The patriarchs of the village and those within the family stake claim on their lives.
At one point in the film, the defense lawyer argues that since his client Arjun has 2 buffalos of his own ,there is no need for him to go and rape someone else’s buffalo. To this the prosecution lawyer retorts that given a chance any man would leave his ugly and boring wife for a young and attractive Miss India.
In another instance, a police officer complains about how women take out candle light marches for silly and inconsequential reasons. The item song “in kutton ke saamne naach basanti naach” is unbecoming for a film that claims to critique obsequious norms and question the status quo.
Rape isn’t a subject to be dealt with flippantly and this film is guilty of lacking the required maturity and sensitivity to broach a topic of such magnitude. While the project is lifted by some good performances thanks to Annu Kapoor, Om Puri and Sanjay Mishra the overall treatment is jarring and flawed.
With a narrative tone that is derisive and lacking insight, important issues about the judicial system and the patriarchal politics surrounding rape lead to no felicitous results.
Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho is a film that set out to achieve great things but manages to do miserable little. I’ll go with 1.5/5 QUINTS.