Peepli Live (2010)

83% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
71% of users liked it
(2,607 ratings)

A simple man learns he might be better off dead, at least financially, in this satiric comedy from Indian filmmaker Anusha Rizvi. Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) are two brothers who run a family farm in Peepli, a small town in India. Business has been bad on the farm, and… More A simple man learns he might be better off dead, at least financially, in this satiric comedy from Indian filmmaker Anusha Rizvi. Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) are two brothers who run a family farm in Peepli, a small town in India. Business has been bad on the farm, and the brothers are unable to repay a government loan, with a default judgment due any day. When the brothers call on a local politician to ask if anything can be done while they wait for a judge's ruling on their case, he facetiously suggests that one of them could commit suicide, since the government would pay benefits to the surviving family members. Natha doesn't realize the official is joking and volunteers to kill himself, while a television reporter overhears the conversation and immediately puts the story on the air. Soon a handful of newsmen have shown up at Natha's house, waiting to find out if the farmer will indeed kill himself, and before long it seems as if most of the nation is watching, with everyone sharing their opinions on Natha and his dilemma. The story is a boon to the news media but bad for the local politicians, who are standing for re-election that day as folks stay away from the polls to follow Natha's story. As everyone from Natha's son to the proverbial man on the street weighs in on what he should do, the farmer wonders if suicide really is the last, best way he can help his loved ones. Peepli Live received its North American premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Anusha Rizvi, Mahmood Farooqui
Written By: Anusha Rizvi
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 13, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Dec 21, 2010
Studio: UTV Communications

Critic Reviews

Rachel Saltz, New York Times
A fitfully amusing Indian comedy that touches on a hot-button topic.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
You can't decide whether to laugh because the events are so absurd or cry because you can imagine them really happening.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
I liked Peepli Live, which is colorful and at times quite lively, but I wish it were funnier and its satirical edge a bit sharper.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Manages to mine substantial dark humor from this tragic situation while offering pointed -- and sometimes poignant -- social commentary in the process.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
It's an unusual taste of mainstream Indian cinema, unexpectedly irreverent with an earthier, folkier soundtrack than the typical Bollywood electro-bounce.
John Esther, UR Chicago Magazine
A better writer than director, the strength of Rizvi's 'Peepli Live' is the film's unsentimental portrayal of the poor
Derek Malcolm, This is London
Thousands of poor farmers kill themselves every year in India and it was audacious of writer-director Anusha Rizvi to make a comedy out of the fact with her first film.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
You can't fault the crusading spirit of this controversial Bollywood satire, just the blunt, one-note, entirely obvious execution.
Cath Clarke, Guardian [UK]
There is a deadly serious message about India's rural/urban divide in first-timer director Anusha Rizvi's satirical gem, but it also happens to have a juicily vulgar streak.
Tom Dawson, Total Film
Drawing on India's rural-versus-urban divide, Rizvi spins a dynamic, enjoyably-acted yarn that balances farcical humour with a satisfying seriousness.
Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
While the tone may shift from satire to farce at times, this is a highly assured debut by Rizvi.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
It's a worthy film. A little less worthiness and a little more sharply weaponised wit would have helped.
Tim Evans, Sky Movies
Rizvi keeps the humour broad (this doesn't have the metropolitan sharp sophistication of Chris Morris) but the premise is so strong that pithy satirical points are neatly scored.
Noel Murray, AV Club
This is a movie that opens with the hero puking, and spends the rest of its running time showing why that may be the only sane response to the state of the world.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
The juxtaposition of the tragedy and the lunacy of the circumstances are not completely disparate; satire is an appropriate weapon here, but it's the drama in Peepi Live that truly resonates.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A poignant soaicl satire, with some elements of a funny screwball comedy about contemporary life in India, its greedy media, complex politics, and diverse populace.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Broad, entertaining satire, with heartfelt pleas, on the difficulties for the farmers and those who try to help them.
Jay Antani, Moving Pictures Magazine
Its comical, sharply observant caricatures of India's political and media jackals offers a much-needed reality check in a country where celluloid escapism is too often the rule.
Michelle Orange, Movieline
I just wish what [Rizvi] had to tell us about the India of today might have taken a form less distractingly reminiscent of the American classics of yesteryear.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A satisfying and searing satire on the plight of poor farmers in India and the lack of sympathy or understanding of them by the rich and the powerful who have their own plans for national progress.