Jayamma Panchayathi, a cultural village drama is a very strong comeback film for anchor Suma Kanakala as a lead actress, after a two decade long hiatus. The film has some beautiful writing in it by Vijay Kumar Kalivarapu. The writer just did not focus only on the cultures in the rural areas, but also he addressed some social issues in the film and that is a brilliant move from him. We can see some honest writing by Vijay in the film. Jayamma Panchayathi has some meaningful messages even in the inner layers of the plot of the film. Let us look at a few issues addressed by Vijay in the film Jayamma Panchayathi.
Issues Addressed In Jayamma Panchayathi:
Dalit Atrocity:
An old purohit named Ganapathi Babu in the film Jayamma Panchayathi belongs to scheduled caste, but he is a huge admirer of Lord Rama. He is very much attached to Lord Rama spiritually because he feels that Lord Rama saved him and his family when their lives were in danger once. So Ganapathi Babu lies to the village people that he is a Brahmin and starts offering prayers to Lord Rama in a temple in the village. But as soon as the villagers come to know that Ganapathi Babu is an untouchable, they force him and his family to leave the temple and the village.
Here Vijay Kumar Kalivarapu clearly showed the mindsets of the people in the rural areas, even in today’s modern world. We are in the 2020s and still we stick to the caste beliefs and still we see some people as untouchables. God, the supreme of this world is equal to everyone and we all have the equal rights to offer prayers to God. This ideology is quoted in the form of a dialogue in the film by the character Sathya Babu. Also, Vijay Kumar addressed this issue in a legal approach too. A member from Ambedkar Association calls to the president of the village and warns him in the case of injustice done to Ganapathi Babu by boycotting him from the village. He also talks about atrocity acts and stands by the side of Ganapathi Babu. So here we observe that Vijay Kumar is alerting us that we are still living in some dark unwanted belief system while the world is advanced in the legal system.
Religious Offence:
A group of Christians can be seen in the film offering prayers to their god Jesus Christ in the streets of the village. A few villagers who are Hindus warn them that they are being disturbed by their prayers and ask them to leave the village if they opt to continue the same. The Christians are not even given any support by the President and the other Hindu villagers to build a Church for them to offer prayers to Jesus.
Here, Vijay Kumar addressed how a few religions are being treated in the rural areas. India is a country where all the religions are treated with equality. But still some rural areas which are underdeveloped behave the same, showing the difference between the majority religion and the minority religion. No religion is greater than human. We need to help each other for sustainability and growth. This is so sensibly addressed by Vijay in the film.
Witchcraft Accusation:
An old man in the village is accused of black magic in the village. But the actual work that man does is he provides folk medicine to the people in ill health. The misconception made by the villagers will be known as the film progresses towards its end.
No man is either good or bad. It depends on either situations or the way we look at them. Vijay exposed this very clearly in the film. Accusing someone is very easy, but knowing their true intention and motive is the utmost difficult part. Sometimes we hate and avoid the persons who are truly and genuinely wishing good for us. Here the old man who is accused of using black magic truly helps the village to get some reputation for the folk medicine it provides.
Jayamma Panchayathi is one such film which does not stick only to the main plot and main character of the film. The film also gives the other characters their space to establish, evolve and transform, addressing many social issues and questioning the true existence of humanity within ourselves. Vijay Kumar Kalivarapu needs all the applause for choosing, writing and presenting a film like Jayamma Panchayathi. This film is a must-watch for all the Telugu audiences. It is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Also Read: Morals To Take Home From Jayamma Panchayathi Movie
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