I like Indian movies and have seen a couple hundred of them. However, when it comes to the Indian films we get here in the States, the formulaic romances with gorgeous actors make up almost all of the movies. Because of that, I was thrilled to find "Peepli Live" because it's actually about normal folks...folks who have darker skin, aren't immensely wealthy and have real world problems. It was also nice that the film itself was very darkly funny and very insightful about the world.

The film is set in the agrarian town of Peepli. Just about everyone there is a poor farmer and Natha is about as poor and miserable a guy as you could find there. He is about to lose his farm and his family is made up of three of the most god-awful people you could imagine. His wife is a hateful shrew, this mother is a mentally deranged shrew and his brother is a nasty manipulator. So, when Natha and his brother learn that the government is inexplicably handing out death benefits to farmers' families when there is a suicide, the brother goes into manipulation mode. The brother says he will kill himself for the good of his family...though before Natha knows it, he is the one who has promised to kill himself!

While normally Natha would just kill himself and that would be that, when he tells people his plans, things begin getting out of hand. Soon, he becomes a celebrity and the media descend on the town like locusts. It's obvious none of these people or the government officials who follow care one bit about Natha or the farmers...they just want to exploit the situation to their own ends. Some folks try to bribe him with the most useless bribes NOT to kill himself, while others try to bribe him with equally useless things to carry one with his plans! All the while, Natha is just overwhelmed and never receives any real kindness. How does this dark film about the shallowness of politicians and the media play out? See the movie and find out for yourself.

In many ways, this film is like a modern Indian version of the classic Hollywood film, "Ace in a Hole". Both are very dark films about the 'news' and how the media manipulates us and both are very insightful. Some of my favorite moments in "Peepli Live" were Natha being given a TV (even though he didn't have electricity) and newscasters coming up with crazy polls such as the one where "7% of the folks blame the United States for Natha's predicament"! Crazy and very well made. Perhaps too darkly funny for many tastes but I am very glad I saw it.

Two nights ago Iwas participating in an online live chat with Aamir Khan (well, along with some 13000 others from around the world) who along with wife Kiran Rao, served as producers for Peepli Live, and as a parting remarked, had urged his fans to encourage their friends, especially those who have never watched an Indian film before, to give this a go, because this is not quite like the stereotypical films Indian cinema churns out with larger than life heroes romancing heroines in fantasy dream worlds.

And it's true, not that Indian cinema has always stuck with that unmistakable notion of how it presents itself, as over the years I've seen independent efforts that churn out hard-hitting stories that are minus the celebrities, but almost always have a message it wants to tell. Peepli Live departs from the usual 3 hours with interval, song and dance routines, to touch on a stark social issue in India – that of poverty and the lives of the rural folk, how inept the government is in lifting its people out of such a plight, and the role of the media that can sometimes get out of hand with less than responsible reporting. Which more mainstream films like Rann and Raajneeti would have also touched upon, but minus the heartfelt comedy that this satire brought along.

Written and directed by Anusha Rizvi in her feature film debut, one cannot escape from the fact that her journalistic background may have paved the way at the harsh yet comical criticism of the media in general, where reporters scramble to scoop and spin their own tales of rural life, and are relentless in their interviews with just about anyone who has an opinion on the issue at hand, that of the voluntary death of one of their own. They poke their noses everywhere, and when things turn dull, even resort to fabrication or plain making a mountain out of a molehill. I cannot deny that part of the fun here is watching how television crew and reporters eagerly camp out, in media circus like fashion, in a fictional state and village of Peepli. Just to get a chance at exclusivity with Naatha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and brother Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) who seemed the smarter of the two.

These brotherly farmers open the film as we follow them to the city to seek a deferment in their bank loan, failing which the bank has decided to auction off their asset – their land. So an ominous note has rung out, since farmers without land means an automatic death sentence, especially when the land they live on not only provide sustenance, but that of a roof over their heads and that of the aged mother who's at odds with Naatha's wife, and children. They soon learn of an inexplicable government scheme whereby farmers who commit suicide get financial compensation, and soon decide that Naatha take up that offer. Overheard by a local newsman, this soon gets escalated, and the media descends onto the village to wait out and capture Naatha's death live.

Little do the brothers know, being so caught up in their plight of poverty, that their actions have repercussions on a bigger stage, one known as elections, and with politicians scrambling like mad to find an answer to this issue, because if anyone doesn't spin this properly, it'll translate to votes lost. And here Rizvi's subplot shines through again in her very pointed criticism of the way her government, and just about any other government, work, through the usual pointing of fingers between State and Federal lawmakers, and the half- baked schemes that they cook up that generally doesn't benefit anyone (other than looking good themselves),whether consciously knowing that it's a scam, or incompetently just aren't aware. Bootlickers and yes-men bureaucrats get shrewdly dealt with in the story as well.

In fact the slight comedy in the film worked wonders to sugar coat the hard hitting messages that Rizvi had intended to tackle, and frankly this may have dulled those messages a little, and ultimately leave one wondering if there's any genuine change that can be brought to tackle the problems at hand. Surely one cannot expect one film to change entire mindsets overnight, and at best, Peepli Live will leave one thinking about the issues, but unfortunately I suppose that's about where it'll stop at.

I'm not sure whether the usual audiences weaned on Bollywood fare may take to a film that's a social commentary on some of the biggest problems facing the country, since the enduring way of how cinema is presented provides pure escapism from common everyday problems, but Peepli Live should find its legs in the more patient, appreciative film festival circuit. Don't expect Aamir Khan to pop up at all in the film, but if you know how he works, then you'd know that his hand is probably in every aspect of this production.

Anusha Rizvi's 'Peepli Live' is a terrific film, that leaves you baffled. Rizvi's screenplay is innovative, while her direction is sharp. Produced by India's current No.1 Superstar Aamir Khan, here'a film that you'll remember for quite sometime.

A satire on the farmers' suicides and subsequent media and political response. Will Natha Die? Will Natha Live? That's the question we've been wanting to know, ever since, the promos hit the air. The answer to that... I suggest you make sometime and visit this tragic-comedy and know yourself!

However, 'Peepli Live' is not without his shed of minuses. The first hour, especially, is very slow. Also, the film tends to get too Loud and Irritating at times. For example, the portions between Natha's wife & his Amma are annoying. The Amma screams her lungs out! These minuses cannot be forgotten!

Coming to the acting, Raghubir Yadav is fantastic as the selfish brother of Natha. Omkar Das Manikpuri as Natha, is quite good. Farookh Zafar as Amma, is irritating! Shalini Vatsa is loud as well. Naseer bhai, repeats his act. Malaika Shenoy is very good. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is effective, in a brief role. Others do a fine job.

On the whole, A must watch film! But, again, it's no flawless film. Mast hai, Zabardast Nahin!