& Amazing Divya Dutta
(Watch on Jio Hotstar)
Of late we’ve been savoring the qualitative growth shown by OTT films & some of the Web Series that have been made on a variety of out-of-box, thought-provoking and contemporary social subjects that are often bold and hard-hitting. Many class actors have remained under-rated and relegated to side roles in mainstream Bollywood films and its the versatile OTT that’s brought out the plethora of talent that exists, actors who are now proving their mettle in meaningful roles that are age-suited and portraying real-life, relatable characters in contrast to ‘larger than life’ reels created. Like Divya Dutta !
Watching the 6-Episode Web-serial ‘Chiraiya’ brilliantly directed by Shashant Shah, in one binge-sitting yesterday, I was absolutely blown over by the standout performance from Divya Dutta. She lives the role of ‘Kamlesh’, a less educated, mid-aged house-wife in a patriarchal joint family set-up in Lucknow, imbibed with deep seated traditional values. She has firm convictions of right & wrong and places immense faith in Papaji’s (the family patriarch) moral preaching and love for her small ‘devar’, like her own son !
The real story unfolds when devar ‘Arun’ gets married to a modern girl who Kamlesh cannot at first accept with her English accent and liberal views but later realizes that its because she feels her hold in the family will be threatened since she’s not well educated. The sister-in-law ‘Pooja’ and Kamlesh have a heart to heart talk, and after the latter is satisfied Pooja means well, she vows to teach her the family ways & protect her always.
Just the morning after the marriage night, Pooja implores Kamlesh that she wishes to return home and later disappears, leaving Kamlesh and family befuddled. Later, on her probing Kamlesh finds out a horrible truth. Her faith & worldview is shattered as she discovers Pooja had been raped by her husband (Arun) on their wedding night and it continued even after she returns to her husband following her parents’ wishes. The story thereafter grimly & slowly explores how marital rape is normalized with the patriarchy’s grip and Kamlesh’s uprising from a compliant family member to a defender of ‘Consent’.
The series is an adaptation of the Bengali web series ‘Sampurna’, but we are reminded of similar themes in films (like ‘Damini’, ‘Pink’, ‘Thappad’) but here’s a bold, gritty take on the issue of marital rape, not discussed openly or covered by any law as yet. We may not be satisfied with film’s ending and why a modern day girl didn’t show more fight. The actors play their parts with great sincerity but the real star here is ‘Diyya Dutta’ – I rate her performance as ‘superlative’ at par with the likes of Shefali Shah and Vidya Balan.
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