Peepli

This is not a Bollywood film, so if you want song and dance, you should not watch (or rate) this film. This is a "regular" film about real life. The main subject of the film is the poor farmer. The farmer who is so poor that he will consider killing himself to earn a government favor for his family. Our farmer, well, he is a bit of a loser, with his wife toiling away to make things work, his bed-ridden mother constantly nagging, and there are the children, of course... At some point he doesn't, no no, he really doesn't say that he will commit suicide to get money for his family, but word gets around in a small village, and before you know it it's out there. Our farmer becomes the focus of opposing political parties as well as the media. Him and his family are trapped in their house as the media camps out on their yard and different political factions try to save face by delivering goods and speeches to earn the farmer's favor. There is a lot of smart critique here, blow after blow we see people with money and power who could genuinely help, but have no interest in really helping the poor farmer get out of the desperation he is in. There is a very somber message at the end of this film. Highly recommended for those who like cerebral films, social justice issues, and of course, goats!

This is a brilliantly made, tightly scripted but deeply real movie about rural India. It does not glamorize either town or countryside - unlike the unbelievable atrocity and unbelievable glamor of Slumdog Millionaire. It presents actors looking much as real people look - literally warts and all.The only thing missing are swarms of flies - I was struck by the fact that the village yards had no flies I could see.It sends up the professional NGO activists, newsmedia and politicians alike.It is dark but very funny if you can ignore the underlying grimness. I would compare it to a British film like 'Four Lions' in that regard.

This smart and cynical movie makes you stop and think about how the press rules the world. This not typical Bollywood film makes a marvelous point about how press driven our world is--so much so that a small, rural farmer's desire to claim a suicide benefit for his family's failing farm brings forth the worst of the fourth estate! The press descends in droves to this small village, and soon overwhelm the entire village with their desire to gain the biggest headline. This soon to be Oscar contender makes a simple story into a monumental point--that there is no news with out a newsman.

Irony at its best, I enjoyed the social commentary on how news media exploits those in need just in order to stay competitive.

A Bollywood drama/comedy which entertainingly brings to light some serious social issues. The odd balancing of comedy and tragedy may put some off but works pretty well in context.

I got ths only because it was by the director of Lagaan which I have probably watched 6 times. It is a social commentary of the media similar to Network but not even close to enjoyment. Pretty much everything about this movie is ugly and I neither Found it clever nor humorous. Satirical it is especially when the media starts filming the poor guys bowel movements. If you are looking for those wonderful Bollywood musicals, song and dance....you will not find it in this movie. There is not a singe character in this movie that I liked.

Many will say that 'Peepli Live' is not your typical Bollywood film--it is and it isn't. It shows a side of India that's grinding instead of glamorous, it's a small film rather than a larger-than-life one, and there are no big-name stars in it. But one very big Bollywood name produced it--Aamir Khan--and it is still fundamentally a Bollywood film.The selective Aamir Khan Productions has produced less than a handful of films since its formation nearly a decade ago, including one--the company's first, 'Lagaan' (2001)--that was nominated for an Academy Award (only the third Indian film in history to get an Oscar nod), and there's a good chance 'Peepli Live' could be the next Indian film to wind up in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Oscar loves social commentaries, even if he isn't partial to comedies. 'Peepli Live' is both.It's a darkly humorous satire about a debt-ridden farmer who creates a media circus when he announces that he will commit suicide so that his family can receive government assistance. A comedy about suicide is a tough stretch, but reaching in disparate directions is Hindi cinema's forte. In fact, this isn't even Aamir Khan's first comedy about the topic--he starred in the critically praised blockbuster '3 Idiots' (2009), a coming-of-age film about college students cracking under intense social pressure to succeed. The extreme measures of both struggling students and failing farmers are real problems (scores of farmers have killed themselves for government aid in recent years), and while '3 Idiots' takes higher education to task, 'Peepli Live' indicts politicians and the media for preying on the poor, while also making a larger statement about the callous self-interest of human beings.The story takes place in the fictional village of Peepli (many of the actors are, in fact, amateurs from a small village in the region where the film is set). Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) is a simpleton who is about to lose his farm in foreclosure. He has a wife, three kids, an older brother--who's a good-for-nothing bachelor, presumably because of his penchant for pot-smoking--and a bedridden elderly mother--whose ranting and insults are the funniest parts of the movie. This is not a loving family and their village is not an idyllic community. The people here are nasty. When Natha turns to the local crime boss for help, the mobster jokingly suggests that Natha kill himself for the money and his brother Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) convinces him to do it. Natha's perpetually angry, suffering wife thinks it's a stupid idea--because she thinks everything Natha does is stupid. No one cares if he dies, not even his kids. And yet, this man doesn't really want to die, even though he has little reason to live. After a local reporter catches wind of his plans, the story goes national, and journalists and politicians descend on Peepli like vultures. The situation turns into a ridiculous feeding frenzy with the not-yet-dead Natha offered up for public consumption. With the whole country waiting for him to die, Natha is afraid to back out.If you don't laugh at life--the old saying goes--you'll cry. And true to Bollywood tradition, 'Peepli Live' makes sure we do both.- The Bollywood Ticket: The American guide to Indian movies (Subscribe: The Bollywood Ticket)

excellent

Very good……happy with this product

I much disliked Slumdog Millionaire, a film as trashy and shallow as its name promises, but Peepli Live is beautiful - not arthouse beautiful but funny, realistic, made in the most glowing colours, and with a political kick at the end like that of a donkey which you are not expecting, and which is all the more powerful for that. It concerns life in a typical village, the suicide rate amongst bankrupt farmers, what happens when local politicians and tv companies try to make capital out of this, and the all too stunning end. The music is wonderful too.

good movie

DVD working, package Ok

Extremely low quality of video. Not even fit for watching on a TV.