When I first saw Ankhon Dekhi, it was not in a theatre, nor did I have it in some HD or Blu-ray format. I didn’t even know whether the film was ever released in a theatre. It was recommended to me and I saw it on a laptop at a friend’s house. I discovered Sanjay Mishra that day. Earlier I had only seen him doing comedy and seeing him in this role helped me change my perspective of reality.
The character of Bauji Played by Sanjay Mishra is one that I related to the most. Bauji’s Family is Poor and Bauji and His brother Rishi are the bread earners of the family. It is a typical Indian Joint family where privacy or Individual choice doesn’t stand any chance. In this scenario Bauji’s daughter Rita falls in love with a guy Ajju. Bauji’s brother Rishi discovers their love affair and encourages Bauji to go and give a beating to Ajju.
The Premise is so simple. It is a simple problem yet it triggers a reaction within Bauji that seems very strange. When Bauji goes to Ajju’s house with his brother to thrash him, he sees Ajju. He realizes that Ajju is an innocent man. Everybody around Bauji described Ajju in ways that weren’t true at all. Now this type of situation might have happened in Bauji’s life before. Bauji is around 60 years old and in this big life span, he definitely would have seen things not matching the description given by the general public. But this situation is different for Bauji. He is having an enlightening moment. He knows his daughter will soon be married and now he does not have more responsibility. He is finally realizing the truth. The truth is right there in front of him. The truth that is pure and free. Bauji, after living 60 years of his life on other people’s terms now decided to live life as it comes. He decides not to be a part of the herd anymore.
Bauji takes a big step and leaves his job. He realizes that he can’t continue working without lying. All those statements he made before needed to be verified now. When the Poojari of the mandir gives Bauji some Prasaad, he eats it and then replies to the Poojari that it’s just a sweet and not Prasaad. The striking factor in this scene is the reaction of the Poojari. He thinks Bauji is mad and doesn’t belong in the society. The reaction shows how uncomfortable the Poojari gets. All our life, we get so comfortable with the lies around us that we are no longer comfortable facing the truth.
When Bauji leaves the job it sends the entire family in unrest. Bauji’s brother Rishi doesn’t want to live in a joint setting. He finds a house for his family and leaves Bauji’s family. Bauji is stressed, he misses his brother but he doesn’t change his ways. He argues with a math teacher that two parallel lines can never meet, even at infinity. Because if they do they will not be parallel. Now, this is a math logic. Mathematics is known for facts but Bauji is so into his new self that even Mathematics can not challenge him to believe in something he doesn’t want to. He instead convinces the math teacher otherwise which is evident by the the later events where the math teacher starts to idolize Bauji.
There are many instances in the film that make you think. In one such Scene, Bauji is in the house and his sister’s son is unwell. He is talking continuously about random things and not stopping. Bauji sees him, holds his hand, and hears every word coming out of his mouth. In a few minutes, he stops. We all have problems but there is no one to listen. Bauji Just wanted to hear what his nephew said and made the difference. Bauji is also shown gambling and winning money. Many would say that showing Bauji in such light was not right for the story, however, when Bauji is gambling, he is fearless and unstoppable. He seems so real and alive and probably that is the reason he wins so much money.
On the one hand, Bauji is living freely, but on the other hand, his family seems to be falling apart. His daughter is about to get married and he and his brother are not talking. That is the only resolution that Bauji needs. But all turns out well because a family’s core emotion can not be disturbed, and eventually both brothers realize this.
The most beautiful part of the film is the end. However, how things turned out might seem unrealistic. No happy person will end his life out of his own accord. But the decision that Bauji made was not due to lack of happiness. If a person has lived on other people’s terms for almost 60 years, and then finds out that he was living the wrong way, it will be difficult to change his lifestyle. But Bauji dared to be free. And once you dare to be free it becomes impossible to be bound. Bauji wasn’t dying in the end, he was living freely. In whichever way you live death is a certainty which we can’t avoid but we can choose to live the way we want.
