Dharmadhikarige Jai… Dharmadhikarige Jai…

Dharrrmmaadhikarige Jai…. Dharrrrmmmaadhikarige Jai!

A refrain that remains fresh in memory from one of the classiest Kannada movies ever made. I was tweleve when I first watched Accident on TV. It was telecast as part of the mostly-boring “Award-winning movies” charade on Sunday afternoon on Doordarshan.

The only experiences that remain from that age are the refrain and a sort of chill that persisted for days. The chill resurfaced when I watched it last night, but without the same intensity.

Accident was a trendsetter in many ways than I can recount in this space. Made in 1985, the movie stands out for its realistic depiction of corruption and the hopeless struggle against it. The movie simply stops after raising questions: the viewer is left to find answers, a rare achievement by that genius of a director, Shankar Nag.

The plot is unbelievably simple, which I think, is one of the main reasons for its success. A powerful politician’s son and his friend, son of an Ad agency owner live the wild life. Both are drug addicts, a consequence of parental negligence. One night, in a drug-induced euphoria, they mow down several people sleeping on the pavement killing all except one.

A cop and a journalist investigate this case. The journalist, essayed brilliantly by Shankar Nag, treads the forbidden path. Meanwhile, Dharmadhikari, the junkie’s politician-father returns to the city and steps in immediately, to “protect” his son. He sends the cop, Mr.Rao on “leave.” He gets presents his illiterate servant as the culprit who caused the accident.

I won’t reveal anything else.

Accident is perhaps the first film that presented the politician-media nexus uncomfortably close to reality. It showed also, for the first time, how easy it is for people in power to manipulate the law in any manner they choose. Shankar Nag succeeds in imprinting a pessimistic message: to struggle against it is not only impossible but futile. He puts these words in the cop’s mouth: “Don’t try to pound a wall that is impossible to break.“

The movie’s screenplay is its greatest strength. Background music is ruthlessly stripped: the only sounds you can hear in no specific order are, car tyres screeching, television blaring, an overturned metallic bucket creaking, bullets sliding inside a pistol, a typewriter clacking, a camera clicking, a dog barking, feet running, conversation, laughter, screaming, cheering, and silence. Shankar Nag never devotes a second more than what is required for a scene. I suspect Ram Gopal Varma has taken several leaves out of Nag’s book. Accident infuses heavy doses of realism. Deepak, the killer on the fateful night stops at a medical store to buy Mandrax. The Wikipedia entry on Mandrax states that

Smoking marijuana laced with methaqualone has become a major problem in South Africa, rivalling crack cocaine as the most abused hard drug…. When smoked, usually mixed with marijuana, it causes an intensely euphoric rush.

The actual “accident” shot that follows this purchase is both a logical consequence and one of the best action scenes. It still is hard to watch the scene without flinching. Shot at night, Nag has made brilliant use of light, darkness, and blood to imprint the gruesome act indelibly in our minds.

Dharmadhikari, played with sinister coolness by Anant Nag, wins in the end but pays a price for it. Watch the movie to learn what the price is.

It’s a pity Shankar Nag is dead.

Cross-posted on Desicritics