Sonal Pandya
Mumbai, 31 Dec 2021 22:52 IST
The veteran actor plays a Rajasthani village elder who resolves to find water for his drought-haunted people.
The looming climate crisis grows starker by the day, with cyclones, avalanches, floods and droughts bringing numerous states to their knees. Films such as Kadvi Hawa (2017) and Kalira Atita (2020) have attempted to educate audiences about the critical subject.
Dinesh S Yadav’s Turtle (Kachhua) sees the denizens of Dehlot village reeling under an acute water shortage. A stepwell of Ramkaran Chaudhary (Sanjay Mishra) has dried up, forcing those living in his hamlet to fetch water from the well of another prominent villager named Shambu (Amol Deshmukh).
Shambu, who charges them for the precious commodity, blames Ramkaran’s young grandson Ashok for the eight-year drought. Deeply hurt, Ramkaran declares that his ancestors had prepared him for this day. He believes that several gold slabs had been hidden in his courtyard by his grandfather for emergencies such as this.
He decides to divide the wealth amongst the villagers and tells them that water from the well that will be dug at the treasure site will be made available free of cost to all living beings. The villagers are won over, and the sceptical Shambu comes over to see for himself if the tale is indeed true.
Dedicated to the real Ramkaran Chaudhary, Turtle is a bleak story, not a feel-good tale. While Ramkaran’s intentions were pure, there was neither gold nor water. The gloating Shambu and enraged villagers cause the old man to take to his heels and even attempt to end his life.
The local tantric believes that immersing oneself in the earth for three days while chanting can bring back the water, but no one rises up to the challenge. The Chaudhary family does some soul-searching as they try to come to grips with the crisis while being increasingly ostracized by the community that they have nurtured for generations. Their next generation will not have the chance to grow up here.
Set amid sandy dunes and arid landscapes, cinematographer Yogesh M Koli sets up the scene well. The local Rajasthani flavour is enhanced by music composer Rapperiya Baalam.
Turtle opens with the words, “A folktale is a fabrication of anecdotes by our ancestors in the past, foreseeing our present of the eventualities in our future”, and ends with a serious plea, urging citizens to be mindful of this ongoing crisis.
It warns us that water sources are drying up or have become contaminated in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi. The makers also cite examples of this problem in the US, China, Spain and South Africa.
Over the past four decades, the global population has doubled and the use of water has quadrupled. The future looks bleak if we do not have a plan. While this might seem like a village-specific issue, it is sure to reach the urban citizen soon enough.
In 2019, Turtle won the National award for Best Rajasthani Film. Led by Mishra, who gives an assured performance as a troubled village elder, the feature puts across its message loud and clear. The rest of the cast is not as solid, but the story is engaging
But the film’s main storyline remains unresolved, as Turtle only tells one part of the tale, and those who would want a clearer resolution would have to watch the filmmaker’s follow-up, Waah Zindagi, as well. I would recommend stopping here.
Turtle is being streamed on Zee5.