Mukkabaaz

An Indian film that treats caste through boxing. Shravan is a young man in Bareilly who wants to be a boxer. The problem: the regional boxing association is controlled by a man named Bhagwan Das Mishra, who is upper caste. Shravan is lower caste. The man makes him work in the gym like a servant. One day Shravan stands up to him, and at the same time falls in love with the man's niece Sunaina. Sunaina cannot speak; the communication is built through sign language, and it is among the most carefully handled things in the film. The real subject is not the sport but the system: which club you can enter, which official registers you, which quota you need to qualify for a government job, and who knows whom. Winning fights is not enough. The boxing is kept realistic; Vineet Kumar Singh prepared for years and wrote the first version of the script himself. Anurag Kashyap directed. Jimmy Sheirgill plays Bhagwan Das. A strong example for anyone who likes Indian independent cinema and social criticism. For a viewer expecting a classic sports film, the narrative does not travel towards a moment of triumph and it runs long.