Skip to main content

Do Bigha Zameen: Portraying social reality of the times at the very core


By Harsh Thakor*
To me ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ is the best movie ever made in India and the most relevant even today. In a most artistic manner it reveals the oppression of feudalism or capitalism, brilliantly weaving a set of characters into a plot. The film contains no element of melodrama or fantasy but still hits the core of your soul. Enacting character of Shambu Mahato Balraj Sahni is so much in the skin of the character that you feel he is the actual person. No film has portrayed Indian social reality in such depth and how socio-economic conditions shape the life of a family. I praise the movie portraying how peasants were compelled to work in the cities which is a predominant feature today in India and the third world. India today has lakhs of migrant labour swapping role in working in fields and factories
Today feudalism in India is rampant in another form .Peasants are not directly subordinated to the landlords but still they often are forced to mortgage their land at ten times less than the price value or auctioned land at unaffordable rates. Caste polarization has been further accentuated. In cities globalization has caused massive retrenchment and forced many workers to return to their villages. Seizure of land by big corporates has become a routine affair, with the ruling party literally sponsoring them. Even in states like Punjab and Haryana commission agents operate. There is hardly any implementation of the land ceilings act preventing any farmer from owning more than 30 acres. Nor has the declaration awarding 1/3rd panchayat land to dalits been implement. Unemployment, price rise or inflation has reached a magnitude as never before. The nation has witnessed over ten lakh suicides because of farmers unable to repay interest on loans. We may boast of cyber cafes in rural areas but still there is insufficient drinking water.. In the age with globalisation thriving gloss and glamour is virtually the only trend in the film industry. Lakhs of people still are denied adequate food shelter, medicine or literacy. Morally all the hits of last 30 years have glorified affluence ,relegating poverty or social reality into the oblivion.
Today the people of India or the world are literally given a most distorted image by the Bollywood of India as though the nation is rolling or flourishing in wealth or prosperity. The films glorify the development but throw no light on the untold disparity or unevenness of growth.
The character of Shambu Mahato depicts the struggle to confront the waves unleashed by the tyranny of landlordism. To pay his interest he goes to the extent of pulling a rickshaw. The film portrays brilliant character child roles reflecting the social values prevailing .Shabu Mahato’s son brilliantly enacts the role symbolising a child in a peasant family. The expressions of hope and despair on the face of Shabu Mahato are like the contrast between a hot summer day and a snowy winter day. The intensity on his face tell it all whether when pleading with his landlord, pulling a rickshaw, scolding and pleading for mercy with his son, or of hearing his court sentence. It was virtually the face of the pauperised people of India.
The theme of the story is how Shambu Mahato is indebted to Thakur Harnam Singh for a prolonged period. Harnam Singh offers Shambu a price to sell his land to relies his debts but he refuses because the tow bighas of land are his only source of living. Later Shambu is tormented by Harnam and even duped with the his debt magnified in herculean proportions by five times its actual level..Circumstances force Shabu to migrate to Calcutta with his son where he pulls a rickshaw and his son polishes shoes. The scenes when his son literally sells himself for the sake of his father’s survival embezzles in the heart of any sensitive person. Ironically he even resorts to stealing. To earn he is compelled to chase another rickshaw of a colleague when sadly the wheel collapses in the penultimate stages.. Sadly his wife falls ill which forces Shambu to use all his earnings to save her. Satirically on the verge of his mother dying he claims it is a retribution for his wrong deeds.
Back to the village the land is auctioned because Shambu could not pay back the debt and father Gangu becomes insane. The land, now owned by Harman Singh, sees the beginning of mill construction. Shambu and his family return to the village, only to see their land sold and a factory being constructed on it. He then tries to get a handful of dirt (soil) from his land but is stopped by a strongman (security guard). The film ends as Shambu and his family walk away from their former land.
Few movies ever had better scene dissection and direction or a more coherent plot to convey a message. With touches of genius he has woven a plot to illustrate the theme. Bimal Roy must be saluted for this masterpiece which pioneered the cause of championing the rural people. No Movie has ever been a more honest portrayal of the social reality of India. It is praiseworthy that it has nothing in common with European cinema and purely an Indian design. No doubt it has shades of ‘The Bicycle thief’ in the father-child scenes.
Balraj Sahni’s acting performance arguably surpassed that of anyone enacting a common man. It was as natural as water sparking in a stream or a rose blooming. He illustrated that art belonged to the common man and that art reached it’s zenith only when relating to social reality. The expressions of Balraj Sahni defined the character of a peasant in every respect. I doubt there has ever been a more clinical or artistic performance by an actor portraying a peasant, immersing in the very skin of the character. The classic rickshaw pullers race is a symbol of how even an honest man selling his labour could be de-humanised. No actor mastered the art of neo-realistic acting like Balraj Sahni who gave similar performances in K.A .Abbas’s ‘Dharti ke Lal’.Balraj ‘s genius gave a 360 degree somersault to the aristocratic stage acting ,taking feature of simplicity to region snot traversed. The very mannerisms and gestures of a suffering peasant wee portrayed, in accordance to circumstances faced. I cannot conceive a film which is also ends so artistically or poignantly with the faces literally telling the story.Projecting Scene of Balraj Sahni even refused to carry a handful of dirt from the soil is artistic genius personified.
Child artist Rattan Kumar as Kanhaiya is brilliant immersing into the very heart of the grave situations and taking realism to its ultimate dimension. His chemistry with his father has most touching effects .His scene of redemption or retribution with his mother on the verge of dying is one of the finest acting displays by a child artist in Indian films. Even Jagdeep as a child artist enacting role of a shoeshine boy as Laloo Ustad gives great flavour to the plot.Nirupa Roy depicts untold sensitivity in her expressions. The scene when she thwarts the bid of a man from taking her into captivity to rape her is heart touching as well as her working on a construction site and hearing the depressing news of her husband’s accident.
Today the people of India or the world are literally given a most distorted image by the Bollywood films of India as though the nation is rolling or flourishing in wealth or prosperity. The films glorify the development but throw no light on the untold disparity or unevenness of growth. We need to re construct films like this to counter the lies of the social media on the true state of the economy and become a thorn in the flesh to consumerist values or imperialist culture. A film of this type must be re-made in another form. I wonder how a remake of ‘Do Bigha Zameen ‘ could be made in the modern era.To me it would have to project the advent of the computer age or mechanization and place much greater emphasis on the imperialist culture. It would have to convey how robots may take over production, replacing all manual labour.
The movie emulated the Italian neo-realist style. In spite of not incorporating fiction like movies’Awaara’ etc it still was a success. Bimal Roy depicted great mastery of craft in inter-weaving scenes and characters and allowing the audience to remain detached ,rather than getting carried away. Perhaps this film missed out on projecting the resultant class struggle or organized resistance which was a dominant feature in those days in India or could have had a sequel portraying theme of revolt. In many ways the film was reminiscent of movie ‘Bicycle Thief. ‘I strongly feel this movie should have had a sequel or atleast remake inappropriate form in the 1970’s 0r 80’s or later in the era of globalization.
Other films that champion social reality at the highest magnitude and most artistically are Sahib bibi aur Gulam” ,’Paar’ ,’Ankur’ ,’Mirchi Masala’ ,’Ganga Jamuna’ “Awara ‘Jagte Raho’,’ ,’Shri 420’Mother India’, ‘Satya’ ,Mrityudand’ and ‘Boot Polish.’ and ‘Mand

*Freelance journalist who has travelled around India

Comments

TRENDING

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar*  “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

World Bank arm accused of hiding crucial report on Gujarat’s Tata Mundra power project

By A Representative   The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has accused the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of concealing crucial evidence related to the Tata Mundra coal power project in Gujarat during the period when the case was being heard in U.S. courts. In a press statement released on October 10, 2025, CFA said that the CAO’s final monitoring report, which was completed in 2019 but released only in September 2025, revealed that IFC had failed to take remedial action for years, even as environmental and livelihood harms to local communities worsened.

When communities lead: The story of Puttenahalli lake restoration in Bengaluru

By Alejandra Amor, Mansee Bal Bhargava  The tropical Indian ecology pushed communities to develop the art and science of rainwater collection since antiquity. Traditionally, harvesting rainwater through ponds, lakes, and wetlands formed an integral part of a holistic water system that included rivers, canals, wells, aquifers, and springs. These decentralized systems sustained irrigation, livestock, and domestic needs in rural areas, supported by generations of community water management practices embedded in both utilitarian and ritualistic values.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...