Tingya - A Mangesh Hadawale film

It was the time to harvest the potatoes. Karbhari, the village farmer was all geared up to yield the tubers and payback the money he owed to the local village money lender Sahukar Tatya. It was one unfortunate evening that coming back from the graze, Chitangya, Karbhari’s bull fell into the leopard traps and broke his hind leg. Unable to stand on its feet and move, it was not possible for Chitangya to plough the fields. Persistent and constant medication and treatment by Karbhari and his wife Anjana could not resurrect Chitangya to employ. Karbhari now went through shivers. As a little delay in reaping would have the buds on the potatoes. Karbhari did not want to penalize himself more from the sahukar. Pandu, a neighbor farmer from the village had just committed a suicide two days ago as not able to return the money to Sahukar. The only choice he could think was to sell the bull to a local butcher and add some money to buy a young bull who could work. But Tingya, Karbhari’s 7 year old younger son did not think of Chitangya in the same breath. Chitangya was not just the animal for him. Chitangya was his elder brother. He was born with Chitangya. He was two months younger than Chitangya. They had shared so many moments together. They had grown up together. And he had a volley of valid questions to which no one had the answers... “Why wasn’t Rashida’s grandmother being sold to the butcher? She too was old and not working. Why were they all taking care of her and not his Chitangya? Chitangya certainly would not depart.” The death of the old grandmother in the neighboring house and selling of an animal come face to face to reveal the reality.

Chitangya is a painstakingly meticulous film about an emotional love story between a bull and a boy, Tingya. It inquires through Tingya’s innocence the validity of existence. It queries the order of the alive and breathing. Is it the man, animal, bird and the sea or vice versa? Who regulates and classifies the categories? Who arranges and sorts the array of the breathings? Is it legitimate?

Chitangya scrupulously and without a mistake talks about the most dark and turbulent times in the lives of farmers in India? If Coke and Pepsi mean globalization to us, then so true. Our economists have succeeded. The global consumptions have reached in India where water and electricity have yet to come? Does the globalization ends there? Or begins from there? Does the world know that the life of an Indian farmer is cheaper than a handful of coins? Do we also know?