Scribd
Upload
382 views

Critical Analysis (Assgn 2)

Pistulya is a 15-minute short film by Nagraj Manjule that follows an 8-year-old boy living in a disadvantaged community who struggles to get an education. The film depicts the boy's daily hardships as he lives with his widowed mother in poverty. Though his late father wanted him to go to school, he cannot afford uniforms or books. Through his perseverance and desire to learn, the boy dreams of getting an education despite the obstacles against him.

Uploaded by

Surmayee Umathe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
382 views

Critical Analysis (Assgn 2)

Pistulya is a 15-minute short film by Nagraj Manjule that follows an 8-year-old boy living in a disadvantaged community who struggles to get an education. The film depicts the boy's daily hardships as he lives with his widowed mother in poverty. Though his late father wanted him to go to school, he cannot afford uniforms or books. Through his perseverance and desire to learn, the boy dreams of getting an education despite the obstacles against him.

Uploaded by

Surmayee Umathe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

Film Appreciation

Assignment 2

Critical Analysis Of Short Film


"Pistulya"

Submitted to: Submitted by:


Kiran Kadam Sir Surmayee Umathe
BFT/18/452
CRITICAL ANALYSIS

stulya
Pi
A FILM BY
NAGRAJ MANJULE
What are the underlying reasons of our life's hardships and chaos?

The 15 minute and 11 seconds long film which was shot by Nagraj Manjule
stands out for its brevity and sequences portraying a stark reality of an
underprivileged life, presented with subtleties of rural India. Just a few minor
details about which we are more interested, making us to overlook the positive
aspects of our lives. Everyone is categorized in some way, and there will always
be someone ahead of us and behind us. Pistulya, a short film, is a tearjerker
because it makes you appreciate how amazing you are.

The film is based on the life of an 8-year-old boy from the backward
community who struggles to get himself educated. The story revolves around a
young boy who lives with his widowed mother, and their lives are filled with
obstacles and problems. Pistulya, the young protagonist, inspires you because
he is the one who refuses to give up his desire to attend school.

“Pistulya is the name of the small boy who works alongside his mother to make
life bearable.”

After researching and reading the interviews, about the unusual name of the
movie, he (director who's also from the same community) said, “Actually we
people are very scared of court and the police, and that is how our names are
derived.”
At the beginning of this short-film, we see Pistulya and his mother selling a
stone grinder in a village, and a camera inside a house focuses on the Grind
Mixer being used in the house, implying that their struggles are worthless and
that it is harder for them to earn two times their daily bread.

His late father wanted him to get educated and put him in school now he can’t
afford the school uniform and books hence he can’t go to school.His mother
forces him to beg along with her and is not concerned about educating him.

Next scene, we see that his mother sells his


handmade toy car to the other kids for bread.

And the kids tear his collected newspaper which


Pistulya carried with his car.
After that we see, his argument with his mom for his education to which his
mom gets mad.

The scene where he is writing his name with stones and his sister appears
from behind, she asks him what he is writing, he tells his sister how to write
her name taking out stones from his own name.
In the scene followed further, he is seen with his community people doing their
illegal work where he asks his uncle to buy him slate and school uniform
instead of sweets.

In the next scene, where Pistulya’s mother is seen working in a shop carrying
water vessels to the shop and she counts her rounds by collecting one stone per
round which is just an in-depth touch given by the director considering the
plot.
In a scene where Pistulya is unwillingly being dragged into the gang of these
small-time rogues by his own mother and just on the wall there’s a poster that
has a helpline number for child abuse.

In this scene he is learning to steal, also we see Pistulya keeping his hand in the
back every time he walks as kids have to do it in school as a form of discipline.
His gang gradually trains him to steal. When he first tries to steal in bus he gets
caught and his gang members saves him. He is shown stealing in the second
scene where he succeeds.
However, as he goes about stealing in the village, he notices a school with
students his age reciting prayer in the assembly, which transports him to
another world. Pistulya's inner churns with dreams of a better life as he
observes the boys and girls in school uniform from a distance and through a
wire-meshed compound.

When the idea of education first comes to mind, the boy for whom the path
of vice is seen as a natural choice arising from the community's way of life,
thinks of his younger sister 'Lali.'

"He appears to be having resigned to his own fate and the wayward life to
which he was condemned in the social set up.

He does, however, have a thought for his sister, whom he believes is the
perfect candidate for pursuing a career in education. And, to begin
supporting her in his own way, he first steals a female student's school
uniform...,"
The film shows the boy flees after stealing the school uniform, and Pistulya
collapses as he runs his heart out and collapses in exasperation along the village
road.

It certainly was a challenge to capture ethos of a community living the life of


tramps and social stigma and projecting a dormant desire for reform,
encapsulating the theme in just 15 minutes.

"It's a charming depiction of the poignant life of a poor child who dreams of
accepting the source of learning through education. Through fine performances,
the director represents the spirit of the child with simplicity and fluency."
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my

Film Appreciation Teacher “Mr. Kiran Kadam Sir” for their

able guidance and support in completing my project.

I would also like to thank my parents and friends who have

helped me with their valuable suggestions and guidance

has been helpful in various phases of the completion of

project.;

Last but not least I would like to thank NIFT for providing

me with all the facility that was required.

Date of Submission: March 2021 Thank You

You might also like