Written and directed by Ritesh Sharma, Jheeni Beeni Chadariya (The Brittle Thread) is a story of a handloom weaver, Shahdab, and a street dancer, Rani, in the historic city of Varanasi.
There are 3 tales going forward simultaneously in this film. The first is the journey of Rani, who works hard in an ostracised profession with the dream of sending her deaf daughter, Pinky to a good boarding school. The second is of Shahdab, a handloom weaver who becomes friends with, and falls in love with Adah, an Israeli tourist. The overarching and perhaps most poignant theme of this film is Islamophobia, which is being spewed constantly by politicians in the country, as a result of which conflicts arise out of nothing but incitement.
Rani’s tale is a beautifully handled one, showing the status quo of the largest section of Indian society, the lower and lower middle class. Her character highlights the hypocrisy of the people she performs for. On the one hand, they enjoy her performances, but on the other, they disrespect her solely because of her profession.
Shahdab’s tale is of different oppression. He is a lone Muslim man in a very symbolic city for Hindus. He weaves beautiful sarees that the women in his own religion are not supposed/allowed to wear. Muzaffar Khan’s portrayal of this character, with a small amount of dialogue, is spectacular because of his body language and facial expression.
With the backdrop of a religious city like Varanasi, the story of how Shahdab was personally impacted by the demolition of Babri Masjid is moving, to say the least. With the chilling, still camera, which leaves you as a spectator to this travesty, and the editing, which jumps back and forth between Rani and Shahdab, the viewer ends up realising that this is not just the journey of the characters, but a representation of the society in Varanasi. The cherry on top of all this is incredibly intelligent sound design, including bytes from questionable speeches by politicians and journalists alike.
Helming such a politically charged docu-drama was no easy feat. Sharma started working on the script in 2015. Initially, the film had numerous dramatic elements with the crew members comparing it to a Bollywood film. After years of refinement, in 2018 the script started to take on a more organic and realistic approach. The film was earlier called Tana Bana (the handloom machine that produces sarees) before finally settling on Jhini Bini Chadariya. The title alludes to the different colours and threads that make up a saree thus serving as a reference to the diverse assortment of people that make up India.
For two months producer Vishvesh Singh Serawat and Sharma along with the crew would lock themselves in a room and flesh out each character that they wanted to incorporate. The actors too subsequently underwent several workshops as most of the film was improvised and even made Banaras their hometown to better prepare for their character. They did not receive any specific lines for their scenes, instead, Sharma would sit and discuss the behaviour of their characters before filming for the day.
A lot of socio-political issues have been brought to the forefront through this film. With so much to convey to the public, the first cut ran for 2 hours and 45 minutes. After much deliberation and consideration, the 11th draft of the film spanning over an hour and a half was finalised.
After watching this film, you realise the various problems that plague our country and continue to do so. Countless innocent people are daily caught up in these religious turmoils. Jini Bini Chadariya is a poignant comment on the hardships of the larger public in India, especially when it comes to acknowledging and welcoming the differences amongst ourselves.
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