Dictionary defines 'realism' as an unembellished depiction of nature or contemporary life. It has been a concept as well as a movement in the world of art. It stands against imaginative or fictional portrayal of reality. The Neorealism movement in cinema draws authentic social contexts and stories, and brings them to the screen. Other movements on the same lines are French New Wave, Cinema Novo, Iranian New Wave, India's Parallel Cinema, and so on.
Arindam Barooah's debut Assamese feature film, Panisokori (In the Swirls), is a film that consciously or unconsciously walks along the same path while being a one-of-its-kind venture.
Superstition still prevails in the nooks and corners of various societies. Though science, education and awareness have helped the human race move forward to a distance, far from where they once stood, age-old rituals and beliefs have still remained a part of the traditions of various cultures. There exist certain beliefs and practices that do not help people in fulfilling the purpose that they are meant for. Such practices and beliefs have affected people for a long time.
In Panisokori, director Arindam Barooah delves into the life of a family, which unconsciously falls prey to the web of superstitions. Drawing inspiration from KshipraKalpaGogoi's story, 'BhogowanorSomadhi (God's Grave)', Barooah aligns his own experiences with a family belonging to the Matak community. Panisokori involves the slow rush in the life of a man as he tries to navigate through the battles that life throws at him. It is an effort of a family man to provide and survive amidst the constant dilemma that he walks into circumstantially.
Barooah gives us Ratiram, the protagonist, who works from house to house, to provide for his family. Other than his family, Ratiram possesses an ancestral bicycle, which is very dear to him. His father, who previously received the bicycle from his father, handed it down to him. As a daily wage worker, his bicycle is an important element of survival. The attachment to a memoir received from his father comes next. Ratiram's life is embroiled in one turmoil after another following a mechanical fault in his bicycle. His bicycle stand comes off one day as he is heading back home from work. Although this does not seem like an issue to be concerned about and one would think that it can be fixed easily, it eventually triggers a series of events. Ratiram's bicycle is of an old model and hence, it is difficult to find a new replacement for the stand.
Ratiram is the head of a lower middle class family and to meet his family's needs, he borrows some money from a villager living in the vicinity. As time goes on, the lender comes over to claim his money. Ratiram is having a hard time as these are those days when work is scarce. The moneylender sets a five-day deadline for Ratiram to return the money. On failing to do so, Ratiram will have to send his youngest daughter to work at the moneylender's house.
Now Ratiram's family lives in a village which is not free from the clutches of superstitions. Stories of ghosts, practices to get rid of evil influences and spirits, and other such traditions exist in the village. Ratiram goes around, seeking work as he faces the urgency to earn the borrowed money in a short period. A friend suggests a family to him, who can provide work. His wife joins him in this venture too. There is gossip that spirits inhabit a certain field, a little away from the village. When Ratiram's son falls sick, he and his wife think it to be the machination of the 'evil spirits' of the distant field. This thought occurs as Ratiram's wife and his son have gone to the so-called spirit-inhabited field in search of their goat. Ratiram goes to a village shaman to fetch a special life-saving medicine, unaware of what fate awaits him.
Panisokori moves on a slow trajectory. The director lets the viewers experience the passage of day in the life of a common man. The use of a variety of static shots lets the viewers experience the freezing of time when things get clumsy. Such slow navigation of a story has previously been seen in films like PatherPanchali of Satyajit Ray. Scenes like the wife sweeping the front yard early in the morning, the daughter stitching a piece of clothing, the radio playing on, and Ratiram getting ready for work, allow the viewer to have a glimpse into the lifestyle of a lower middle class family, under a real and non-fictional setting. Another scene of a traditional ritual being conducted for a woman who is unable to bear a child, is shown in a realistic manner.
The concept of time is not compressed in Panisokori and this forces the viewer to stay with the state of mind of the characters on the screen. The cinematography in the film is full of frames that highlight layers of emotions hiding beneath the surface. The use of natural lighting and location sound gives an undecorated existence to the story and the characters. Moreover, the actors are non-professional and actual residents of the village, around which Barooah constructs his film. The incorporation of a lot of Neorealist elements in Panisokori is a throwback to the cult Italian drama film, Bicycle Thieves, by Vittorio De Sica.
Panisokori reflects and highlights the elements of irony that exist in the real world. Every morning Ratiram's family has the radio turned on. One such morning, a programme on the radio speaks about superstitions and irrelevant practices. It is ironical how the family always has such programmes playing on the radio when they are actually not listening or getting influenced by them. One can also witness the gap between science and superstitions, and generational awareness. While Ratiram's daughter uses her savings to bring medicines from the pharmacy to her sick brother, Ratiram, on the other hand, seeks faith healing.
Panisokori also highlights how circumstances put people in indecisive situations and dilemmas. When Ratiram faces multiple monetary needs, he forgets to fix his bicycle. It is a never ending dilemma in the life of a common man as to where to invest and use the earnings. You will come to know how this dilemma affects Ratiram only when you watch the film.
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