Aar Ya Paar

The major problem lies with the story by Anhata Menon, Umesh Padalkar, and Sidharth Sengupta. It’s too weak, oversimplistic, and largely conforms to the stereotypical portrayal of tribals. It paints a world that is black and white. Tribals are shown wearing sac-like clothes, speaking a perfectly and easily comprehensible dialect of Hindi, are expert archers, and are pros in their understanding of medicinal flora and fauna to the extent that they can treat cancer which even modern medicines cannot. It’s too superficial and no effort has been done to even scratch this surface. Hence neither the screenplay nor the dialogues can do much to elevate this mundane material. The direction largely conforms to the usual revenge drama wherein the hero wants to avenge his father’s killing at any cost.

Aar Ya Paar is noble in its intentions. It advocates Adivasi rights, criticises man’s greed and remains on the side of nature. Just that these themes are wrapped in such an improbable plot, feels like an injustice to tribal stories. Things happen with filmy convenience. Sarju, wielding just a bow and arrow, shoots down goons armed with assault rifles and even bazookas. He gets a haircut and becomes incognito enough to get selected for a global sports event, where he is representing the country. The makers have also not made a genuine attempt at authenticity. The Adivasis wear brown sack-like costumes and have a lingo that sounds like an overemphasized Madhya Pradesh dialect.

The show proves that an amped-up style oozing with Bollywood-style flourishes is singularly unsuited to exploring the sustained destruction of indigenous habitats, the ignorance and prejudice about Adivasis and the collusion between big industry and security forces. The credibility crisis begins with the portrayal of the Adivasis as simple-minded jungle folk who have a herbal remedy for a sophisticated illness but otherwise shun medical treatment. Sarju, who shudders when he sees himself in the mirror for the first time, masters modern technology in less time than it takes to say “Excuse me, what?” Sanghamitra, initially a willing shill for Rueben, is even less believable. It’s well-meaning, of course, suffused with generalised sympathy for the crisis facing tribals and stacked with respectable actors. The one thing the show gets right is the cynicism and cruelty with which Adivasis are treated.