The good, bad and ugly Despatch...

Still waters run deep. Unlike balle balle Punjabis, Kanu Behl, acclaimed director of movies like Titli and Agra, now ready with the film Despatch, does not go gung-ho about his achievements. He wears feathers like Agra’s screening at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, in the Directors’ Fortnight Section, sans any pomposity. Like his meaningful films, his answers too are a deep exploration of human psychology. Back in time he described Agra ‘as reality of patriarchy through the prism of male sexual misery’, today he sums up Despatch as ‘journey of modern cowardice.’

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In cinema we often see journalists as heroes coming up trumps, achieving their mission with flying colours. But back in 2017, when he and his co-writer Ishani Banerjee started brainstorming they realised the world of crime reporting is not what it appears from the outside. Research led to meeting lawyers, cops, reporters, even members of the underworld and thus an interesting picture of Despatch emerged. Here crime reporter Joy Bag, played by Manoj Bajpayee, driven by personal compulsions and greed, is somewhat of a Faustian character. He is much a victim, as part of the system, and someone who scripts his downfall.

In a country where hero worshipping is a norm, Behl felt an inherent need to present his protagonist as not quite ‘hero’hero. He reasons, “How many of us are heroes? If we look around us there are hardly any people with spine. The world we are living in, everyone is just trying to survive and in the battle of survival people do what they do. Yet, if we still want to consume only hero stories than we are consciously choosing to live in a fantasy land.”

Thus, he, who has given us a biting picture of dysfunctional family and flawed beings in more than one film, believes, “Cinema is a strong artistic tool whose purpose goes way beyond entertainment.” Needless to say, his movies do notstate the obvious nor scratch just the surface. Rather, his cinema delves deep. Thus, if patriarchy is a thread in movies like Agra, it also makes us realise how it affects both genders equally. He says, “The relationship between men and women can’t be seen in isolation, as simply the oppressor and oppressed. It is important to look at men in a specific way so that they can be shown the mirror and we can find a holistic solution rather than ‘othering’ men.”

Interestingly, he would not like to ‘other’ viewers either. Sexual intimacy, yet another important aspect of his films, is certainly not a tool to grab eyeballs but a window to look into the souls of his characters. He reasons, “In those naked moments one can find certain truths about who the character really is.” Despite bold scenes, he has no unsavoury tales to tell of our seemingly prudish censor board. On the contrary, he reveals, “They do not look at sexuality with single lens and do understand whether the movie is trying to say something important or titillate. For Agra, they proposed only minimal cuts.” In Despatch, anyway he observes, “For me these are not sex scenes but transaction of emotions between different characters.”

The fact that Despatch has been produced by the mighty RSVP does not mean road for Indie makers has become any easier. He insists, “Post Covid, we have begun to follow the Hollywood model and believe that if we are going to cinema halls it has to be for an event film, only for entertainment.”

Of course, having star actor Manoj Bajpayee on board did prove to be a facilitator for him in garnering finances too. Bajpayee, according to him is ‘completely a director’s actor’ and likens him to a unicorn, ‘who once on the sets has no agenda except to make the best movie possible’. Good cinema for Behl is not knowing all the truths but arriving at a point where he and his viewers can together make sense of the world around them and start a conversation. Cinema, as he views, “Has the responsibility to reflect reality as faithfully as possible.”

Soon, he will turn his gaze towards his home state Punjab with an added responsibility to do justice to its cultural, societal complexity. For now, watch Despatch on Zee5 if you want to be more than just a passive consumer of popcorn entertainment.