Eeb Allay Ooo! trailer: Hints at a layered socio-political satire

The trailer of Eeb Allay Ooo! (2007) by Prateek Vats opens with hints of a familiar narrative regarding a government job of shooing away monkeys from the Rashtrapati Bhavan area in Delhi. At the same time, the idea of a film made on the apparently ridiculous profession raises curiosity and anticipation. The trailer gradually reveals more details of the profession along with introducing the protagonist, Anjani played by Shardul Bhardwaj, who lands up with this odd job.

The three words in the title of the film are merely coined for shooing monkeys and langurs. However, they turn Anjani’s life into a complete mess. Often, he struggles with the delivery of Eeb Allay Ooo and sometimes the monkeys and the langurs give him nightmares.

As the trailer gradually reveals his struggle, the audience can sense that the crisis portrayed in the film is not that of an individual. The plight of a certain community of people pervades through the visuals of monkeys being chased, people getting dressed as monkeys and the exhibition of langurs at the parade in Delhi.

There are hints of a humorous approach to presenting the entire narrative and at the same time, the documentary-like portrayals suggests that the approach is not meant to provide comic relief only. A narrative of struggle coupled with humour can easily lead to satire, which gets heightened with the exceptional background score.

The repetitive soundscape continuously mocks at the unfolding of the situation, and no matter how funny Anjani’s condition appears, one can clearly sense the gravity behind it.

The trailer of Eeb Allay Ooo! promises a layered storytelling. With the mention of handing over guns to people who are not meant to handle weapons, the plot seems to take a political turn too. The trailer ends with a surreal visual of a man running dressed as a langur.

Watch the trailer in the link below and let us know if you would like to watch the film: