Gopika N (LEC052022)
Dr. Joseph
Koyippally
LEC5016
15 June 2021
Joji: Macbeth retold
The universality of Shakespearean plays attracts filmmakers, even after decades, to adapt and create their versions of it. Macbeth, one of the greatest tragedies of William Shakespeare that tells the story of greed and guilt too, inspired many filmmakers from around the globe, hence giving birth to extraordinary films, in different languages. In 2021, the Malayalam film industry saw one of its greatest and marvelous creations released on an OTT platform – Joji. Directed by Dileesh Pothan, the movie drew evident inspiration from Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth and is not a strict adaptation. In many instances in the movie, we can draw parallels between Macbeth and Joji, and a closer look at both these exceptional creations, will reveal more about this.
As the hero (as well as the anti-hero), Joji, suffocates under the strict parenting of his father, Mr Panachel Kuttapan, we can see his growing fear and suppression paving the way to crime and liberation that he aspired for, but which pathetically ended up in a failed suicide attempt. Joji is portrayed as a good-for-nothing, second son, of an elite and powerful father. The repression faced by the young man, and his frustrations are very subtly, yet distinctively portrayed, and this acts as a justification for the silent patricide he commits. Nowhere in the movie, Joji is influenced by anybody to kill his father, but Bincy, his sister-in-law, gives a loud yet inaudible approval and support. But, in Macbeth, there is a very obvious push from Lady Macbeth, to kill King Duncan. Bincy in Joji, can be considered an equivalent to Lady Macbeth and is probably the only character who is more similar to one, from Macbeth. As we dig deeper into the reasons for Bincy being a silent supporter for Joji in killing Kuttapan, one major root cause that we can find is patriarchy. At various instances in the movie, we can see a very tired Bincy, carrying out the chores, cooking and cleaning single-handedly. She wishes for release from the shackles of patriarchy and the joint family, and this is revealed when she urges her husband Jaison, to ask for money from his father, for them to shift to an apartment.
Macbeth, on killing King Duncan is haunted by guilt and his emotional state kept fluctuating at different instances in the play. While Joji wasn’t much bothered about the crimes he committed. During Kuttapans' funeral, Bincy even asks him to wear a mask. The mask acts as a metaphor, as something that covers the evilness inside Joji. He even attempts suicide, not out of guilt, but out of fear of being caught. Guilt is one fine and major factor that kills Lady Macbeth and eats up Macbeth, in the play, but the movie hardly shows hints of it. While Macbeth is synonymous with valor, Joji is suppressed and fearful. The only thing that is common for both these exceptional works of art, is the fact that they are built upon a strong foundational theme of greed. While in Macbeth it is power, in Joji it is property. Macbeth is a plot of bloodsheds with a lot of deaths, while in Joji, a scary flow of blood can be seen by the end of the movie, as Joji attempts suicide. There aren’t any witches or similar characters in the movie.
Likewise,
with a lot of differences, and a very few similarities, Joji is an exceptional
movie woven with a very basic idea about Macbeth. As a movie that exists
without the support of an external inspiration like Macbeth, Joji can be
considered as one of the milestones in the Malayalam film industry. But, when a
question of inspiration from the play arises, very few indistinct familiarities
can be seen in the movie.
Works Cited
- Joji. Directed by Dileesh Pothan, Performance by Fahadh Faasil and Unnimaya Prasad. Bhavana Studios, Working Class Hero and Fahadh Faasil and Friends. Amazon Prime Video, 2021.
- Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. USA: Spark Notes, 2005. Print.
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