The India that debutant writer-director Bikas Ranjan Mishra wades into with the hard-hitting caste oppression drama, Chauranga, is a blighted world far removed from the la-la land that mainstream Bollywood cinema conjures up for its fans Friday after frenzied Friday.
Yet, Mumbai potboilers and their superstars are alluded to throughout the film, both in lines of dialogue and in entire situations. But in its intricate and dense milieu, song and dance can offer little solace to those whose backs are forever against the wall in a losing battle for dignity.
When a zamindar — the key antagonist. . .