The Show Must Go On: Bachche Log, Taali Bajao!

Directed, produced and photographed by Hemant Chaturvedi, Bachche Log, Taali Bajao is a documentary about a family of acrobats that has kept showmanship alive through generations. It was filmed on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra in 1996.

For Chaturvedi, the motivation to make this film came from two places: one is that he has loved the circus since childhood; the second is the fact that acrobats in small towns in India are not respected as professionals anymore. This craft, which can literally make you shed tears of blood, is not regarded as a brutal and honest profession and is in turn, dying. Through his film, Chaturvedi has tried to show the audience the innate sense of the performer/audience relationship and how the performers must take on the challenging task of attracting the audience and keeping them hooked.

The film was shot live by a handheld camera during two of the many shows by the acrobat family. This was coupled with individual interviews with each family member to understand their craft in tune with their aspirations for themselves and their other family members.

Since the performance of the family is fast-paced, exciting, and loud, the individual interviews are shot on a calm, serene river bank. This brings out introspective, aspirational, and even a humane part of the performers as they discuss their past regrets, present circumstances, and future dreams.

The first interview is with Prakash, the leader of the family, and their performance. While he is a skilled, fearless acrobat who can jump through hoops of knives on fire, he is also the mastermind behind the business aspect of their art. He reveals that loud music and women of the family holding up dangerous-looking hoops is what attracts the public. Once the public is gathered, there is a back-and-forth between Tana ji (another family member) and Prakash in the form of questions that prompt loud answers and vice-versa. This conversation keeps the public curious as to what is coming. There is also an element of building suspense. If the family does all the tricks one after the other, the public will just watch and leave without paying. The family has a solution for this as well and it’s shown through Soni and Madhu’s trick of lifting almost 30 kilogram heavy rocks with their hair. Yes, hair! The rocks are tied up with the women’s braids and then they do the impossible- they lift them. However, as Prakash announces this trick and the public leans in to watch carefully, the women yell out to collect money first. Now too curious to see if this feat is doable, the public reluctantly fishes out money and hands it to Prakash. Only when the money is collected, do the women go ahead with the trick.

The acrobatic art is spell-bounding on its own, but the family is also clever with its business side. They have managed to keep their art alive through several generations. Partly this is because of necessity. As Soni says that even when her eyes are filling up with blood during one of her tricks, the show must go on. At the end of the day, it is their bread and butter. However, another part due to which they are acrobats is simply because they have done it since childhood and enjoy it. The film also starts up a profound conversation about what role audiences play in the lives of performers and how generously should artforms like these be rewarded. One of the scenes in the film is of a ‘thaali’ going around the circle of people in vain as none of them put in any money. In the end, a ₹2 coin is put in.