Mirch Masala

''Mirch Masala'' (Translation: Hot Spice) is a 1987 Hindi psychological thriller film directed by Ketan Mehta. It stars Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil in the lead roles. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, ''Forbes'' included Smita Patil's performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema".

Plot

In the early 1940s, an arrogant ''subedar'' ( Naseeruddin Shah) (local tax collector in colonial India) and his henchmen ride into a village, scaring a group of women fetching water. Sonbai ( Smita Patil) alone stands her ground and politely asks them not to let horses into the village's potable water source.

Subedar settles into his camp and the ''Mukhi'' (trans. the chieftain) of the village visits him to pay respect. Subedar's gramophone is an object of fascination for the men of the village. Mukhi's frequent absence from home is resented by his wife. The schoolmaster ( Benjamin Gilani), tries to get her to enrol her only daughter in the school. When she does, other women ridicule her. ''Mukhi'' pulls his daughter out and beats his wife for disobeying him. The ''mukhi's'' younger brother ( Mohan Gokhale) is in love with a lower caste girl, but dares not mention it. When their liaison is found out, the girl's father beats her and tries get the ''mukhi'' to agree to a marriage. The ''mukhi'' rejects the proposal as unsuitable.

The subedar's men routinely loot the village for food, livestock, and supplies. When Mukhi brings a woman to him, he is disappointed that she is not Sonbai, but beds her nonetheless. He persists in wooing Sonbai, but when his demands turn forceful, she slaps him across the face and runs away. Enraged, he orders his soldiers to bring her. Sonbai takes refuge in a masala karkhana (a spice factory where red chillies are ground into powder). Abu Mian ( Om Puri), the wizened old Muslim gatekeeper and factory guard shuts the factory doors keeping the soldiers out. The ''subedar'' attempts to get the gates open through the factory owner and the ''mukhi'' fail. Abu Mian refuses to compromise on his job of providing security to the factory employees.

Subedar's threats of destroying the village prompt the ''mukhi'' to convene the village panchayat. The villagers hold Sonbai responsible for inciting the subedar and decide that she should yield to him. The schoolmaster points out that once they give in for one, there will be nothing to stop the ''subedar'' from demanding others, even perhaps the ''mukhi''s own wife. ''Mukhi'' thrashes him and throws him out. ''Mukhi'' reports back to the ''subedar'' that they will hand over Sonbai on the condition that the ''subedar'' will not make further demands of this nature. The ''subedar'' laughs off this condition and has the schoolmaster tied up to a post.

The ''mukhi'' brings pressure on Sonbai, but she stands firm. Within the factory, the women who once supported Sonbai now turn upon her. They fear that if she does not yield, the ''subedar'' may send his men to indiscriminately molest the womenfolk. Sonbai nearly relents, but is stopped by Abu Mian. She resolves to stand firm. Abu Mian chides the ''mukhi'' and the villagers; they may lord it over their wives at home, but are not man enough to face the ''subedar''.

The ''subedar'' orders his soldiers to charge the factory, and they smash down the door. Abu Mian manages to shoot one of the soldiers, but he is shot dead immediately after. The ''subedar'' enters the factory and tries to grab Sonbai. The women of the factory mount a sudden and surprising defense. They attack the ''subedar'' with bagfuls of lal mirch masala (fresh ground red chilli powder) in teams of two. The film ends with the ''subedar'' on his knees, screaming in pain as the chilli burns his face and eyes.

Cast

* Naseeruddin Shah as Subedar/Sarkar, the villain
* Smita Patil as Sonbai
* Raj Babbar as Sonbai's husband, guest appearance
* Om Puri as Abu Mian, the factory watchman
* Suresh Oberoi as Mukhi, the village headman
* Deepti Naval as Saraswati -Mukhi's wife
* Benjamin Gilani as the school master
* Harish Patel as the priest
* Paresh Rawal as a villager
* Amol Gupte as a villager
* Dina Pathak as the old village woman inside the factory
* Ratna Pathak Shah as Pallavi, a village woman inside the factory
* Supriya Pathak as Radha, a village woman inside the factory
* Mohan Gokhale as Mukhi's younger brother and lover of Radha
* Deep Dhillon as soldier of Subhedar/Sarkar
*Ahmed Khan as soldier of Subhedar/Sarkar
* Ram Gopal Bajaj as Jeevan Thakkar, owner of pepper factory
*Vipin sharma as villager

Awards and nominations

, -
, rowspan="3", 1986
, Producer: NFDC; Director: Ketan Mehta
, National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
,
, -
, Suresh Oberoi
, National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
,
, -
, Sanjiv Shah
, National Film Award for Best Editing
,
, -
, 1987
, Ketan Mehta
, ''Golden Prize'' at 15th Moscow International Film Festival
,
, -
, 1988
, Suresh Oberoi1988 BFJA Awards
/ref>
, Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Supporting Actor Award
,

References

External links

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{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Hindi

1980s avant-garde and experimental films
1980s feminist films
1980s Hindi-language films
1985 films
Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners
Films about women in India
Films directed by Ketan Mehta
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award–winning performance
Films set in the British Raj
Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award
Indian avant-garde and experimental films
Indian feminist films
National Film Development Corporation of India films