01. LEC052040..."JOJI" AND "MACBETH"

 

LEC052040

SAMBATH U M

16-06-2021

The 2021 Malayalam movie, Joji is a regional adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth. Joji is directed by Dileesh Pothan, starring Fahad fasil, Baburaj and Unnimaya. The excellence of the movie lies in the script by Shyam Pushkaran who gave importance in the developing of the character than the plotline and Dileesh Pothan brilliance.

               While considering Joji as the regional adaptation there occurs a lot of similarities and differences from the original play Macbeth. The theme of Macbeth has been earlier adapted into various Indian languages including Malayalam itself like Veeram released in 2016. Joji inspired from the play Macbeth, and also shows its influence from the 1985 movie Erakal by K.G. George. Eventhough Joji can be seen as the influence of both, Joji doesn’t depend any of the work which make Joji an entirely different experience.

The movie revolves around the Panachel family, headed by Panachel Kuttapan who is a strong wealthy dominant character. He has three sons Jomon, Jaison and Joji who were highly obedient and independent to their father. While three sons have fear towards kuttapan, their different emotion and commitment towards him make the 3 characters distinct and different. Bincy is the wife of Jomon, who resembles the character of lady Macbeth. Bincy manipulates Joji by understanding his vulnerabilities which ultimately made Joji a patricide and fratricide. Macbeth and Joji are forced to kill more people for maintaining the power they gained. This makes Joji a tragic hero.

            While tracking the similarities of the movie, it would show us how the movie trenched its roots in the play Macbeth and the differences would show us how the movie has drifted away from the text to make a cultural balance. The title of the play and the movie suggest the protagonist, Macbeth and Joji. Comparing both Macbeth and Joji, shows that both have similarities as well as differences. While Macbeth was a strong warrior, who dominates everyone with power. Joji is a weak human, who have been dominated by everyone. This is one of the major distinction while traveling from 17^th century to the 21^st century. Where hard power doesn’t always rule. It is the age of soft power.

               The witches in the play are so important that they sow the seeds of ambition in the mind of Macbeth, while in Joji the direct presence of Witches is absent. Eventhough there occurs a event when the Character played by Shammi Thilakan calls Joji as a “millionaire” (00:27:42), which is he is not. This call actually added a spirit to Joji for dream about the assets he going to have after his father’s death. This call thus indirectly created the vaulting ambition and ended in the patricide and fratricide. Macbeth used to have an intense setting while Joji deploys an entirely different mechanism with the fine blend of dark humor, which makes the movie a different experience.

Joji is a sheer piece of masterpiece created within all the limitations of the pandemic. Joji is the first major film released during the pandemic. Pandemic didn’t restrict the scope of the movie, rather it showed the Malayalam industry how to adapt and survive in this tough situation.

 

Work cited

Joji. Directed by Dileesh Pothan, Performance by Fahadh Faasil and Unnimaya Prasad. Bhavana Studios, Working Class Hero and Fahadh Faasil and Friends, 2021. Amazon Prime Video.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. USA: Spark Notes, 2005. Print.