01.LEC052001 'Joji' and 'Macbeth'

 Adwaidh.S

Dr.Joseph Koyippalli

LEC5016

09 June 2021

When Macbeth becomes Joji

Macbeth is perhaps the most 're-told' play of Shakespeare. There are so many film adaptations and inspired scripts of the play across the world, with respect to the particular local culture. The Malayalam film Joji  is a new entry to the list. Responding to the time and geography, Joji is set in the rural atmosphere of Kerala in the time of COVID pandemic. Syam Pushkaran's excellent script could effectively reach the audience.Dilish Pothan,the director and Fahad Fasil,who played the protagonist deserves a very special mention for their uncompromising talent.

The plot of Joji is set in a patriarchal family in which youngest son Joji is treated as a useless fellow. Joji is always to bear commands from his father and elder brothers. The frustrations that he suffers from the continued oppression is released a bit on opportunities to command over Poppy,the son of his elf brother. The other one oppressed in the house is his sister in law Bincy. The common factor creates friendship among them.

The normal course of events is upset when his father,Panachel Kuttappan is fell to be bedridden. Everyone in the house tries to safeguard their personal interests. On realising that his father's death alone can help him to be a mighty individual,Joji plans and executes the slow and steady method to kill him. In the plot Bincy provides her silent support. Without any grief he kills his eldest brother Jomon too when he was in opposition. But he is caught in the crime soon. At this point Bincy is not supporting the crime that took place without her prior knowledge of it. In the anticlimax Joji is unwilling to accept his crimes. Though bedridden the sense of himself as a mighty one is not left.

The characterisation in the film are in fact contradictory to that of Macbeth. We have a weak,fearful,oppressed Joji in the film,in opposition to the powerful,the valiant hero Macbeth of the play. King Duncan was a fatherly figure who greatly admired and encouraged Macbeth's talents with promotions ,where Panachel Kuttappan is more like a tyrant who shows no love but negligence towards his sons. In contrast to the power hungry Lady Macbeth who delivers psychologically intense melodramatic dialogues,the movie shows a silent,rather oppressed Bincy who craves for individual freedom and her deserving authority. Also, she leaves Joji on a critical point of his continued criminal deeds.While the play ends with the death of Macbeth, the film ends with the uncompromising protagonist,even to death .

Joji's desire for authority is a result of the oppression he has suffered throughout his growing up. Macbeth's desire was more selfish one immediately aroused from the witches' prophecy. The drunken doctor in the film reminds Joji about his great fortune awaiting if father is dead ,which triggers Joji's mind. Jomon,the eldest brother corresponds to Banquo. But Banquo's murder was a conscious plot of Macbeth where Joji was killing Jomon accidentally. Another major dissimilarity is in the relation between Joji and Bincy who are not romantically or sexually bonded. Also,both of them are not guilty  for their deeds.

But similarities and dissimilarities doesn't matter;Joji is as an  excellent film in its aesthetic and technical aspects. The suggestion that the film could have been much more psychologically engaging if it had adopted more from Macbeth too remains very valid.

Works 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.