The farmer has disappeared from our imagination.
A farmer — Gajendra Singh — had to die on live TV for his plight to dominate prime time headlines. From Do Bigha Zameen to Bombay Velvet, from Pather Panchali to Life in a Metro, the kisan and mazdoor have disappeared from Bollywood and from the collective consciousness of urban India. Post liberalisation, as middle class urban India came of age and begun to write, speak, think and make movies only about itself, urban legends took over from rural ones, leading the kisan to ask, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun? Mother India and Upkar, with the defining song Mere Desh Ki Dharti, may have been replaced by Lagaan and Omkara, but if Bollywood is the Read More
