On November 8 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. With the aim of launching a crackdown on black money, PM Modi sent shock waves across the nation. Whether demonetisation was a success or failure remains debatable, but that did not stop producers from making movies on the subject. Though Bollywood largely stayed away from the topic, there were several regional movies made on demonetisation.
As demonetisation completes one year today, here is how cinema portrayed this move:
Shunyota (Bengali):
Released in April 2017, Shunyota was directed by Suvendu Ghosh. With Arun Guhatharkurta, Arindol Bagchi and Debesh Roy Chowdhury in lead roles, the movie traced how demonetisation affected the common man. It was woven around three stories in an attempt to bring notice to the lesser known effects of demonetisation. Before its release, Shunyota ran into trouble with the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). The film was finally given a green signal for release after ordering six cuts. After the release of the film, the director said he was unhappy with the cuts but had to abide by them since he wanted the film to reach a wider audience.
Check out the film’s trailer:
Also read: Here are 21 jokes that made demonetisation a little palatable
Mersal (Tamil):
Thalapathy Vijay-starrer Mersal would definitely find itself in the list of the most controversial movies of 2017. The movie recently was in the news after it targeted PM Modi’s policies like GST and demonetisation. In one of the scenes in Mersal, Vijay’s friend, played by Vadivelu, jokes with a robber because he did not have any cash thanks to the demonetisation move. This was one of the scenes which a few BJP leaders wanted to be removed from the movie.
Watch the trailer here:
5G (Kannada):
This Guruvendra Shetty directorial showed the journey of demonetised 500 note through all the pillars of the constitution — legislature, executive and judiciary as well as in media. The movie focused on how Mahatma Gandhi would have felt had he been alive today in the current democratic space in the country. To make the movie more commercial, it also had a love story angle.
Watch the trailer here:
Also read: At the Delhi Job Fair, people blame PM Modi’s demonetisation, GST for unemployment
Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada (Telugu):
Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada did something that many movies did not have the luxury to do. This supernatural romantic thriller was released on November 18 last year. Since the topic of demonetisation had been ruling the headlines, the makers made a few changes in the script to include the event as well. In one of the scenes of the movie, the lead actor Nikhil Siddharth joked about being busy because he spent his entire time standing in queues to exchange old Rs 1000 notes.
Also read: From ‘legalised plunder’ to ‘black day’, here’s all Manmohan Singh has to say about demonetisation
Jai Lava Kusa (Telugu):
Another Telugu movie which included demonetisation in its script was Jr NTR’s big Dusshera release, Jai Lava Kusa. In one of the scenes, Luv (Jr NTR), who was a thief, had a run-in with other theives at a bar. After a high-octane action sequence, a TV gets switched on accidentally through which the robbers learn about demonetisation. Post this, none of them seems to want the cash, making the movie a hilarious watch.
Here is the trailer of the movie:
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