Meenakshi Raj
Dr. Joseph
Koyippally
LEC 5016
15 June 2021
The
tragic hero of the Bard and the callous slouch of celluloid.
(A
comparative study of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
and Dileesh Pothan’s Joji.)
The
characters of the Bard from the star-crossed lovers to the “untitled tyrant
bloody-scepter’d” (Mac. 4.3.105) have all assumed new skin and have conversed
in new tongue with the course of time. Translations and adaptations have added
to the legacy of William Shakespeare affirming him as a man for all times. The riddles
and the nightmare visions of Shakespeare’s cursed Scottish play is now haunting
Joji even though the chill is lost in the sprawling plantation cloaked in mist.
The 2021 movie Joji is a regional adaption of Macbeth, directed by Dileesh
Pothan with Fahadh Faasil playing the usurper.
Even
though the movie is not a direct adaptation, but an inspiration as disclosed by
the director, and the writer Syam Pushkaran not having read Macbeth, parallels
can still be drawn as the plot fluctuates with the great tragedy. Joji unlike
the royalty of Macbeth is a family drama revolving around Joji and the inhabitants
of Panachel house. Inflamed by humiliation and driven by greed and blind ambition
Joji, an engineering dropout commits murder to assert his masculinity. So, the
movie is confined to the family feud and the life of Joji than the wider canvas
of Macbeth.
There
is a power dynamic that is prevalent in Joji similar to the power of the king
in Macbeth. But the Duncan who is a virtuous and fatherly king is replaced by a
brutish patriarch Kuttapan P.K. This ruthless master of the house is feared by
his three sons- Jomon, Jaison and Joji, who are merely in the dialogue of Joji “one
of the subjects of your kingdom” (Joji 48:13 - 48:14). But this submission
forced by the flexing muscles of Kuttapan is soon overcome, as Kuttapan falls
sick, with a tussle for power and control.
The
eponymous hero of the movie similar to the eponymous character of Shakespeare is
soon confronted by jugglers who play with his fragile ego and hints on the
favorable situation. Dr Felix first sows the seeds of ambition in Joji calling
him a “millionaire” and assuring him that his father will not survive a fortnight.
Joji just like Macbeth, initially waits for fate to take its course and bring
him good fortune. Joji can be seen purposefully ignoring the whimpers of his
dying father as an unbothered priest delivers the farewell sermon. But his hope
soon wanes when Kuttapan recovers and restores his supreme position in the
house.
The
manipulative and powerful Lady Macbeth gives way to a frustrated and
tight-lipped Bincy, Joji’s sister-in-law who spikes Joji’s greed with her sighs
and silent exasperations. Confined to the kitchen and tired of the male
hierarchy in the house, she skilfully uses the men as puppets to confront the
patriarch. When Jaison, her husband fails to demand her needs with Kuttapan,
she targets Joji with “your good days will be wasted on this kitchen slab”(Joji
42:54 – 42:57). Just as Macbeth is reined by the valour of Lady Macbeth’s
tongue, this declaration pushes Joji to confront his father and eventually kill
him. Although she is not involved in the murder of Kuttapan, she remains a
silent witness studying Joji’s every subsequent action.
A
resemblance to the Banquet scene in Macbeth can be found in the funeral scene in
Joji. Just as Macbeth is convinced by Lady Macbeth to attend to his subjects in
a masked face, Joji with greed brimming on his face is advised by Bincy to wear
a mask to cover his face. A resemblance to Banquo and Fleance can be seen in
Joji as Jomon and his son Popy. With suspicions in the air about a patricide,
Jomon eventually confronts Joji about his fathers death. Joji’s lies falter and the second murder is committed out of provocation.
Although
many such similar instances can be drawn from the movie, it deviates so much
from the universe of Macbeth. The regicide is replaced by a patricide and the
valiant Macbeth is distorted into a prodigal Joji with a slouched posture. The
witches and their prophesies that accelerate the action in Macbeth is missing here,
and the role is partially employed by provoking characters like Dr Felix and Bincy and predominantly restricted to the vices within Joji. This leads to
the most important question- the hamartia or tragic flaw of Macbeth. Joji is
not a tragic hero. Although he is ambitious, he is unsympathetic and cunning.
Unlike the “vaulting ambition” of Macbeth that leads to his gradual descent
into madness, Joji is not regretful of his actions. He is a criminal rather
than a tragic hero. The hallucinations Joji has after the murders is merely a
fear of getting caught than a prick of conscience.
The
movie has definitely given a regional makeover to Macbeth with the subtle histrionics
of Joji. The greed and instability of Macbeth excellently portrayed by Fahadh’s
close up shots. The beginning scene of the movie is commendable where the bird-eye/aerial
shot gives a visual delight similar to the freshness of Macbeth’s Castle of
Inverness. But Joji’s castle is within the Panachel house, confined to the four
walls of his room and engraved by the letter cuttings on his door.
The
movie without the badge of a Shakespeare inspiration would have been more
successful with its sway as a crime thriller with an excellent cast. But it is so caught up in the wide universe of Shakespeare that it comes off as a poor adaptation
with scenes picked randomly to create a deformed story.
Works Cited
Pothan,
Dileesh. Joji. Amazon Prime Video, 2021.
Shakespeare,
William. Macbeth, edited by Rajinder
Paul, Rama Brothers India Pvt.Ltd.,2018.
“Where
Does Joji Fit In The Moral Universe Of Macbeth?”. Film Companion, 8 April,2021,
https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/malayalam-features/joji-malayalam-movie-fahadh-faasil-macbeth-amazon-prime-dileesh-pothan/.
Accessed 15 June, 2021.
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