Yashwantrao Chavan : A Sad Compromise

by Praveen Lulekar

I had two important cautions in my mind before watching Yashwantrao Chavan – Bakhar Ekaa Vadalachi. First, being an ardent admirer of Director Dr. Jabbar Patel’s all the previous works, I did not want to be biased. Second, I wanted to see the film only cinematically – the story it told and how it told, without any extra-narrative context. In the course of the film, both my vows collapsed. On screen, an extremely disappointing piece of art seemed to compromise its integrity through political inclination. It either paints history conveniently or chooses incidents that forcefully carve out a god out of its hero.

Written by senior journalist and author Arun Sadhu, the film is a biopic on eminent politician Yashwantrao Chavan, Maharashtra’s first Chief-Minister and union minister of different portfolios. It traces his life and times from 1912 to 1984 – his childhood, youth (played by Om Bhutkar) and adulthood (Ashok Lokhande), the last stage expanding into many stages. There are many aspects to discuss about the film; three broad points stand out – Chavan’s ideological battle in the pre-independence era, his role in the Sanyukta Maharashtra agitation and the overall character built-up of the protagonist.

The most gripping part of the tale is Yashwantrao’s participation in the freedom struggle. Through meticulous recreation of the era (art and costumes – Sham Bhutkar and Mohan Ratnaparkhi), an intense ideological battle is raised here – between socialism, Gandhism-Nehruvian ideology and Manvendra Nath Roy’s humanism. Impact of Bhagat Singh’s hunger strike in jail and the consequential death of Jatindranath Das are also shown effectively. This struggle catches the crux of the dilemma of any common karyakarta in the freedom movement. It reaches you in flesh and blood through Bhutkar whom you are bound to carry home. The dilemma is however never resolved logically – it is true that Chavan had his doubts about socialism, but why did he ultimately accept Gandhi-Nehruism never becomes clear. It comes with a random explanation that ‘it became clear after the Second World War that this was the right way’.

Ashok Lokhande as Chavan, Lubna Salim as Venutai

 Many leaders from the era meet you – S. M. Joshi, Acharya Atre, Acharya Bhagwat, Morarji Desai and so on. All these are important faces of the Sanyukta Maharashtra agitation. This is the most controversial part of Chavan’s political career; he was subjected to aggressive criticism in this period. The film ‘honestly’ puts this forward. What it intelligently does is raise Atre as more of a caricature, bound in gimmicky animations. Purpose: ridiculing the opponents. This period also portrays Chavan as a religious Nehru follower, which was true. But it also portrays him as an idealistic, emotional leader whose only bold characteristic you can derive is that of a party loyalist. The treatment remains locked in the confines of his personal life, a full-fledged political narrative never really emerges.

The fact that Chavan’s stand on united Maharashtra was ambiguous is left as it is. Both, loyalists and opponents would have differing opinions on this period. But it hurts you when his real work – as the CM of Maharashtra is never seen. His vigorous efforts to unite western Maharashtra with Vidarbha and Marathwada, his policy decisions never come into picture. What comes is his tremendous admiration for literature and terribly failing attempts to find an allegory for his persona with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Shirvadkar’s Natasamrat and even a false accused in Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal. Dr. Patel really loses the grip and purpose when he shows footages of the latter two without any context. His safe references to the emergency make it a sad compromise.

The strength of the film is its editing (Nitin Rokde) and music (Anad Modak). In vast chapters, they maintain the pace and flow. A commendable job is also done by Shivdas Ghodke (casting) and Vikram Gaikwad (make-up), who create Yashwantrao out of Lokhande, an average actor. He is ably supported by Lubna Salim (Venutai, Chavan’s wife), Meena Naik (Vithabai, his mother) and others, who justify Chavan’s greatness more than the lead actor. 

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