Kavya S
Dr. Joseph Koyippally
LEC 5016
15 June 2021
MACBETH AND JOJI
Inspired by the Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dileesh Pothan’s Joji
is a contemporary take of the Scottish play set in a patriarchal household. The
titular character of Joji is played by Fahad Fazil. The director makes it clear
that Joji is inspired from Macbeth and not an adaptation. There are various
elements in the film which are in agreement with play and there are many
differences as well.
One of the major differences between the play and the movie
is the way the protagonist is portrayed. Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Thane of
Glamis, is admired by everyone whereas Pothan’s Joji, an engineering dropout, is
belittled by everyone in his household. King Duncan calls Macbeth his ‘worthiest
cousin’ indicating their close kinship whereas we see Kuttappan, Joji’s father
abusing him both verbally and physically. King Duncan is a gentle and lovable figure
whereas Kuttappan is a guy who intimidates others both by his physical and
mental presence. The regicide in Macbeth was driven by ambition insinuated by
the prophecy of the three witches; Joji killing his father was an act driven
mostly by the frustration and humiliation he suffered and his greed.
The reign of King Duncan is portrayed as an unperturbed one.
On the other hand, everyone is seen a bit unsettled in Kuttappan’ s household. Jomon,
the eldest son, is a divorcee and an alcoholic. Jason, the second son, who manages
business in town and his Bincy want to move out of the house but is humiliated
when he asks his father for money. Joji is an engineering drop out, who, after
a series of unsuccessful business ventures whose only remains is a horse, is
financially dependent on his father. Jaison’s wife Bincy, the only female in
the household, is also suffering. Most of the time, we see her doing chores. Almost
every character in Joji is in a state of agitation but it is Joji who reaches
the breaking point first.
We see the presence of
a housemaid after Kuttappan’ s death which suggests that Bincy got her break
only after Kuttappan is gone. While Duncan’s death brings upon a disturbance
throughout the Kingdom, Kuttappan’ s death seems to bring peace for a little
while, at least for some of the characters in the household.
While Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is often remembered for her
speech, Bincy, who is the Lady Macbeth in Joji is memorable because of her
silence. While Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth towards regicide with her speech, Bincy
acquiesces Joji in the patricide with her silence. We see Joji sneaking into Kuttappan’
s room to replace the pills on the first two days but then on the third day,
the sound of the washing machine silences his footsteps on the third day and
Joji no longer is surreptitious when he goes to his father’s room.
The murders in Macbeth are all planned beforehand whereas in
Joji only one of murders was planned and the other one was a deliberate one. The
prophecy of three witches is also one thing which hasn’t been retained completely
in the film. However, hearing the words ‘Kodeeshwara’ from a drunk Dr Felix raises
Joji’s hopes. Macbeth is haunted by his guilt whereas Joji is haunted by the
fear that he’d be found out.
While Macduff kills Macbeth in the war, Joji attempts suicide
by shooting himself with the airgun, but survives and wakes up paralyzed in a
hospital bed. While Macbeth confesses his mistake, we see Joji not blinking his
eyes forcefully, when the Police officer asks him to confess his crime by blinking.
As the movie ends, we see the words “JOJI’S PALACE” pasted on
the door of Joji’s room, which can be taken as a parallel to Macbeth. Even before
killing Duncan, Macbeth is given the titles of Thane of Glamis and Thane of
Cawdor. He wanted to enlarge his control to the whole kingdom. Joji too, like Macbeth
wanted to extend his control from his room to the whole household.
While Joji is an excellent movie with inspired by Macbeth, the
director has brought about a lot of differences to adapt it to suit the narrative
of a patriarchal household in Kerala. And despite the differences it has, the basic
human emotions which drive the characters to do act upon their impulses remains
pretty much the same.
References :
Joji, Directed by Dileesh
Pothan, Performances by Fahad Fazil, 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment