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''Peepli Live'' is a 2010 Indian
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...
that explores the topic of
farmer suicides A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
and the subsequent media and political response. It is written and directed by
Anusha Rizvi Anusha Rizvi (born 13 March 1978) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Formerly a journalist, Anusha's directorial debut, ''Peepli Live'', premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2010 in the World Competition Section. It was the first In ...
in her directorial debut, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The film stars Naya Theatre company member
Omkar Das Manikpuri Omkar Das Manikpuri (born 5 August 1970) is an Indian stage and film actor. He is a native of Brindanagarm (Chhattisgarh) and has been a member of folk-theatre doyen Habib Tanvir's, Naya Theatre company for several years. Manikpuri made his Hin ...
as well as
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
,
Raghubir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian actor, music composer, singer and set designer who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with ''Massey Sahib'' (1985), in which he played the title role. He has won two International Awards as Best Actor for ...
,
Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...
, Shalini Vatsa and Malaika Shenoy along with a number of newcomers. ''Peepli Live'', distributed by
UTV Motion Pictures UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Zarina Screwvala in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communica ...
, was released on 13 August 2010. ''Peepli Live'' was India's official entry for the
83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beg ...
Best Foreign Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
category although it was not nominated.


Plot

Natha is a poor farmer from the village of Peepli in Mukhya Pradesh, who struggles to farm enough money for his family made up of his elder brother, Budhia, his wife, Dhaniya, his three young children and his ailing mother Amma, who spends most of her time lying down and screaming at Natha and Dhaniya. Natha and Budhia often pretend to go out farming when actually they save up whatever money they have to buy alcohol. This has left the whole family famished and now the banks are demanding repayment of loans or else the family will be stripped of their land and house. In the meantime, the Mukhya Pradesh Government have called a by-election due to continuous criticism of their blind eye towards the desperate poverty that surrounds India's largest state. The opposition Apna Dal Party believe they have a chance to form the government in this election as the people have lost faith in the long-serving Sammaan Party and its Chief Minister, Ram Babu Yadav who, along with Federal Agriculture Minister, Saleem Kidwai, believes in the industrialisation of rural areas. To save his land and to save his family from becoming homeless, Natha, encouraged by his brother, decides to commit suicide after he requests help from the rural headmen and they suggest that his committing suicide is a good way to get loan money waived, and after which his family will receive heavy compensation for his death. While Natha and his brother are discussing this possibility at a local tea stall, the news gets reported by Rakesh, a local reporter from Peepli. This report then gets picked up and highlighted by the national English news channels and reaches the Chief Minister. The media starts surrounding Peepli sensing the possibility of a sensational suicide story. One ITVN journalist particularly keen on filming the event of Natha's death is Daytime Presenter, Nandita Malik. She joins the local reporter Rakesh Kapoor and takes desperate measures to interview Natha and his family on the subject of Natha's suicide. However things get more tricky when rival Hindi news channel, "Bharat Live" finds out about Natha and Peepli. The news channel clashes with ITVN and each try to film Natha's impending death in their own manner. The Sammaan Party also soon discover Natha's plans and try to buy off Natha with sops to prevent him from committing suicide. Opposition parties like the Apna Dal and the
CPI A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...
also get involved and plan to use Natha as a path to power in the elections. Peepli soon becomes the centre of attention across Mukhya Pradesh. Nandita's frantic attempts to interview Natha get worse when Rakesh does not find Natha or anyone else in Peepli to interview. She seems unimpressed with Rakesh's compassionate stand towards Natha and believes that as reporters their duty lies in reporting and following the news and nothing else. On the other hand, "Bharat Live" continues to be successful in their attempts to interview. Yet as time goes on, Natha does not die. Meanwhile, the Sammaan Party realise that if Natha commits suicide, they will lose the elections. The rural headmen secretly kidnap Natha and hold him ransom for money from the opposition. Yet their plans are foiled when Rakesh discovers Deepak and his men holding Natha hostage at a Peepli barn. A rush occurs when people from Apna Dal, the CPI, ITVN, Bharat Live and Peepli villagers all rush to find Natha. In the confusion, a spillage accident from a
Petromax Petromax is a brand name for a type of pressurised paraffin lamp ( US: kerosene lamp) that uses a mantle. They are as synonymous with the paraffin lamp in Continental Europe as Tilley lamps are in Britain and Coleman lanterns are in the United ...
lamp sets fire to the barn, which explodes and Rakesh is killed. The Government officials mistake Rakesh for Natha and refuse to pay Natha's family the compensation money due to the death being an accident. Meanwhile, Natha is in fact alive and flees to
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
and is seen working as a day labourer in the construction industry. His family loses their land to the bank.


Cast

*
Omkar Das Manikpuri Omkar Das Manikpuri (born 5 August 1970) is an Indian stage and film actor. He is a native of Brindanagarm (Chhattisgarh) and has been a member of folk-theatre doyen Habib Tanvir's, Naya Theatre company for several years. Manikpuri made his Hin ...
as Natha *
Raghubir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian actor, music composer, singer and set designer who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with ''Massey Sahib'' (1985), in which he played the title role. He has won two International Awards as Best Actor for ...
as Budhia * Malaika Shenoy as Nandita Malik *
Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...
as Rakesh *
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
as Saleem Kidwai, the Agriculture Minister *
Aamir Bashir Aamir Bashir is a Kashmiri actor, film producer, and director. Early life and education Bashir was born and raised in Kashmir, the son of the retired Chief Justice of Jammu High Court. He is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, University of ...
as Vivek Vashisht * Anoop Trevedi as Thanedar Jugan *
Ishita Vyas Manju Vyas (born 18 March 1992) known by her stage name, Ishita Vyas is an Indian television and film actress. She placed in the top seven of the reality television show, '' Kingfisher Calendar Hunt 2013''. Career Vyas began her career as a mo ...
as Reporter * Shalini Vatsa as Dhaniya *
Indira Tiwari Indira Tiwari is an Indian actress. She appeared in the Hindi-language films ''Aarakshan'' (2011), ''Nazarband'' (2020), ''Serious Men'' (2020), and ''Gangubai Kathiawadi'' (2022). Career Tiwari began her acting career by portraying a student i ...
as Reporter *
Avijit Dutt Avijit Dutt is an Indian filmmaker, actor, theater director and communications consultant. Living and working out of New Delhi. He has done his masters from Calcutta University in English Literature and began his career at an English Faculty in ...
as Boss of English TV Channel *
Farrukh Jaffar Farrukh Jaffar (1933 – 15 October 2021) was an Indian actress and radio presenter in Bollywood. Having begun her career with Vividh Bharti in 1963, she made a transition into acting with a supporting role in the 1981 film '' Umrao Jaan''. Ja ...
as Amma *
Vishal O Sharma Vishal Om Prakash (aka Vishal O Sharma) is an Indian actor. He has acted in over 50 films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. His notable roles have included Kumar Deepak in the award winning Peepli Live. Personal life Vishal O Sharma was born ...
as Kumar Deepak *
Sitaram Panchal Sitaram Panchal (1963 – 10 August 2017, Mumbai) was an Indian actor known for his roles in ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), ''Peepli Live'' (2010), ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' (2002) and ''Jolly LLB 2'' (2017). Death He was suffering from ...
as Bhai Thakur * Sandeep Yadav as cameraman of Nandita Malik


Production

''Peepli Live'' began as a script written by
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
journalist Anusha Rizvi called ''The Fallen''. In 2004 Rizvi asked Aamir Khan to read her script and, although he initially refused as he was preoccupied with shooting '' Mangal Pandey: The Rising'', he eventually decided to finance the film after she described the plot to him. In an interview, Khan explains the meaning of the movie title: "When we were looking for the right title before we began the publicity and promotions of the film, we came up with Peepli Live. Peepli is the village that film is set in, the "live" part is meant to indicate: here is a story that is happening in Peepli that the filmmaker is bringing to you live. That's why it's Peepli Live." ''Peepli Live'' was filmed on various locations in
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
such as
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
,
Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
,
Tikamgarh Tikamgarh is a Census town#India, town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of three hamlet ...
,
Khurai Khurai is a town in Sagar District and a municipality in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is located in the northeastern region of Madhya Pradesh. Climate Khurai has a mainly moderate climate. From October to February the temperature is ...
as well as in New Delhi. Maxima Basu designed the costumes aptly capturing the rural essence of the film. According to Aamir Khan, many of the actors are
Adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...
s from the sub-urban area of
Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
, Bhadwai in
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. Other cast members are from playwright
Habib Tanvir Habib Tanvir (1 September 1923 – 8 June 2009) was one of the most popular Indian Urdu, Hindi playwrights, a theatre director, poet and actor. He was the writer of plays such as, ''Agra Bazar'' (1954) and ''Charandas Chor'' (1975). A pio ...
's theatre troupe Naya Theatre.


Release

''Peepli Live'' competed in the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
, the first film from India to achieve this feat. With support of media billionaire Keyur Patel of Fuse Global who is major hollywood financier "Peepli Live" was selected at
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
and his relationship with Robert Redford provided a great platform there. It received an 'A' adult certificate in India for language use. The movie was picked up by speciality German distribution company Rapid Eye Movies for a special screening at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
. It was also named the Best First Feature Film at the 31st
Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa an ...
in South Africa. In the United Kingdom, the film was released on 24 September. ''Peepli Live'' reportedly recovered its cost before its release itself.


Reception


Critical reception

''Peepli Live'' received positive reviews. Subhash K. Jha, film critic and author of ''The Essential Guide to Bollywood'', describes ''Peepli Live'' as "a work of damning ramifications." He further states that, "To most of us out here sitting in the auditorium, farmers' suicide is just a headline. Read, regretted and then put to bed. Peeply (Live) is that savagely raw and hurtful wake-up call for the conscience which does not mince words."
Nikhat Kazmi Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...
of the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
'' gave the film three and a half out of five stars stating," How smart can Indian cinema get? Exhilarating answer: Very smart. And that's the bottomline of ''Peepli Live,'' a small little film, that showcases the real India without glossing over the contradictions of our fumbling-bumbling democracy or getting overtly sentimental about garibi and the attendant grime that goes with it.
Pratim D. Gupta Pratim D. Gupta is an Indian journalist, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He reviewed films for ''The Telegraph (Kolkata), The Telegraph'' newspaper and later for online platform Film Companion. His first film as writer-director is ' ...
of ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' wrote "Peepli Live demands to be absorbed and not just watched over the weekend" and praised the director Anusha Rizvi – "she has the gift of the dark humour satire ala Shyam Benegal and in her uncompromised shooting style, she shows the fire of Mira Nair".
Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
of ''
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...
'' gave it four and a half out of five stars and argues that "the concept armers' suicideswould instinctively translate into a serious, thought-provoking film. But ''Peepli ive' takes a grim and solemn issue, turns it into a satire, garnishes it with populist sentiment and makes a far greater impact than a mere documentary, had it tackled the burning issue. In fact, like all Aamir Khan films, ''Peepli ive' marries realism with a winning box-office formula most brilliantly." Mayank Shekhar of ''The
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' gave the film four out of five stars arguing that "the satire is irresistible; the subtext, compelling. And yet neither shows itself up in any form of self-seriousness. The comic writing is immaculately inspired". Noyon Jyoti Parasara of
Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
gave the film 3.5 out of five and said, "''Peepli ive' is a class act and director Anusha Rizvi and producer Aamir Khan could take a bow for working this into reality".
Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
of
CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...
also gave it three and a half out of five stars, calling it "a scathing satire on the country's apathy towards the rural class, and specifically towards farmers, ''Peepli Live'' employs a comic tone to tell a serious story. The witty script turns Natha into something of a local celebrity, who draws out the true character and motivations of all those who cross his path."
Mathures Paul Mathures Paul is a journalist for The Telegraph newspaper in Calcutta, India. His articles cover a wide range of subjects, including: films, music and information & technology. He was previously with The Statesman. Some of the people he has i ...
of ''
The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Anusha Rizvi demolishes successfully whatever little faith we had in the political process. ''Peepli (Live)'' is entertaining and inspiring". , the film holds an 86% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 28 reviews with an average rating of 6.32 out of 10. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film had an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "Generally Favorable" reviews.


Box office

According to Box Office India, ''Peepli Live'' took a good start and did a business of on its first day. The film collected by the end of its third week and was declared a super hit. Overseas, the film opened to a limited release at 64 places in the U.S, and was ranked third, grossing $350,054 in the domestic market and $700,000 worldwide in its opening weekend.


Awards and nominations

; 2011 Filmfare Awards * Nominated: Filmfare award for Best Film * Nominated: Filmfare award for Best Costume Design ; 2011 Star Screen Awards * Winner : Star Screen Award for Best Ensemble Cast ;6th
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards The Producers Guild Film Awards, previously known as the Apsara Awards, is an award event hosted by the Producers Guild of India to recognize excellence in Hindi film and television. Originated by filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna in 2004, the ...
* Winner : Apsara Award for Best Story – Anusha Rizvi * Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role – Omkar Das Manikpuri * Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) – Raghubir Yadav * Nominated : Apsara Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) – Farukh Jaffer ; 2011 Zee Cine Awards * Nominated :
Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
* Nominated : Best Comedian – Omkar Das Manikpuri ;
5th Asian Film Awards The 5th Asian Film Awards was given in a ceremony on 21 March 2011 as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Nominees and Winners Best Film *Winner: ''Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'' (Thailand) **'' Aftershock'' ( China) ...
* Winner : Best Composer -
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
* Nominated : Best Film - Aamir Khan * Nominated : Best Newcomer - Omkar Das Manikpuri * Nominated : Best Editor - Hemanti Sarkar ;
3rd Mirchi Music Awards The 3rd Mirchi Music Awards, presented by Radio Mirchi, honored the best of Hindi music from the year 2010. The ceremony was held on 27 January 2011 at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, and was hosted by Shaan and Sonu Nigam. The program featur ...
* Winner : Upcoming Lyricist of The Year - Bhadwai Village Mandali - "Mehngai Dayain" * Nominated : Upcoming Lyricist of The Year - Noon Meem Rashid - "Chola Maati Ke Ram" * Nominated :
Male Vocalist of The Year Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to a ...
- Bhadwai Village Mandali - "Mehngai Dayain" * Nominated : Music Composer of The Year - Bhadwai Village Mandali - "Mehngai Dayain" * Nominated : Music Composer of The Year - Nageen Tanvir - "Chola Maati Ke Ram"


Soundtrack

The music is composed by
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, an Indian band and
Ram Sampath Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for Mumbai-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' ( ...
.


Track listing


Controversies

The film was subject to a few controversies. VJAS (Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti), the Nagpur-based farmer's advocacy group, asked the Maharashtra government to ban the film due to its depiction of farmer suicides. Kishor Tiwari, the president of VJAS, stated: "TV serial 'Bairi Piya' has shown that debt-trapped Vidarbha farmers are selling daughters to clear their debt, while 'Peepli Live' is far from reality and an insult to poor farmers of Vidarbha who have been victims of globalization and wrong policies of the state." In addition, according to the ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'', "folk singer Rama Joshi alleges that a song Chola Mati Ke Ram, which has been used in the film, does not give credit to Gangaram Siwar, a celebrated folk singer of Chhattisgarh and the original lyricist of the folk song." In response, Nageen Tanwir, who sang the song in the film, stated: "The song, Chola Maati Ke Ram, has been composed by Gangaram Siwar in Chhattisgarh, but the Habib Tanvir theatre group has officially purchased rights for the song. So I don't understand why people from Chhattisgarh are asking for their due again." Also, according to
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
, ''Peepli Live'' was inspired by 1997 English film '' Mad City''. In an interview with ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', he stated that he was astonished to learn that India's official entry for the Oscars this year, ''Peepli Live'', was inspired by ''Mad City'', his best film as an actor. The film's storyline also shares similarity to Malayalam film '' Pakal''. Its director M. A. Nishad says: "The storyline of the Bollywood movie ''Peepli Live'' has a similar theme to ''Pakal'', which was released much before the Hindi film. The difference was in the narrative style." The song "Mehngai dayan khaye jat hai" was challenged in court by the Congress party alleging that
Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...
was called as "Dayan" (female ghost) in the movie. However, the argument did not sustain and the case was dismissed by the court holding that Sonia Gandhi was not responsible for the rising inflation in India.


See also

*
List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Bes ...
*
List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film India has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (formerly Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) since 1957, a year after the incorporation of the category. The award is given annually by the United S ...


References


External links

;Official *
Peepli Live – Aamir Khan Productions
;Database * * * * {{Indian submission for Academy Awards Films shot in India Films about farmers' suicides in India Films about the mass media in India Indian satirical films 2010 films UTV Motion Pictures films 2010 directorial debut films