Peepli Live had a lot of expectations, coming from Aamir Khan’s production. And was it as good as it seemed when we first saw Peepli’s promos? It is the début movie of journalist-turned-director Anusha Rizvi. Yup, you read it right. Peepli is this bold chick’s first movie. And, she wrote the script herself. I had considered this fact more than anything else before writing an honest review of the movie, not giving into my usual character of being a devout Aamir Khan.
Peepli live essentially takes a “lively peep” at some very disturbing issues in India. It tackles the serious issue of farmer suicides, vote bank politics and the sensation crazy TRP hungry media channels. It also takes a look at how bureaucrats manipulate the woes of the common man to their advantage. Quite a mouthful of themes eh? At first thought, these ideas usually paint a serious picture and make you want to ditch the idea of watching the movie. However, this is Aamir Khan – a marketing genius who has shown a weirdly accurate knack of what works in Bollywood. So instead of a boring, preachy documentary, what we get is a bone tickling satire about how the media stoops to inhuman levels to ‘cover’ the plight of a farmer.
