So, I must begin by applauding the efforts of Aamir Khan. He is the only star who is using his stardom in the most noble way possible. It is only the star power of Aamir Khan that can do justice to this noble cause of a show. Of course, there are monetary rewards involved for him but the fact is he deserves every penny of it. I once heard Sajid Khan, a pitiable film maker (of Housefull... duh!), commenting that films and motion pictures can't change our lives or inspire us and are merely a dose of entertainment. Well, Satyamev Jayate is the closest thing that challenges this statement. Aamir Khan's current Bollywood run has jeweled him with the repertoire of being a rare "thinking" and great film maker (the other being Raj Kumar Hirani of 3 Idiots and Munnabhai Franchise), and this show will add another diamond to his crown. If Aamir Khan is thinking, he is thinking hard!
I am writing this review for what I believe this show will be about based on the structure of its first episode. Is Satyamev Jayate the first ever social issue based serial? Not by any means. But because of everything else, it is indeed a beacon of light in otherwise abysmal lot of Indian soap operas and reality TV. What has been done this time has never been done before.
So, what's different about this show? The shear focus on the detailing of every aspect of the show, the structuring and the motif is what makes this show a path breaking step towards revolution. The first episode talks about Female Feticide. Logically, the show begins with defining the problem and evoking an intense emotional response in the audience via tragic real life stories of two mothers from illiterate, low income and rural backgrounds who suffered unthinkable atrocities by the hands of their husbands and in laws because their unborn child was a female. At this point, just as I thought that the show will keep documenting such stories, the tempo changed.
The audience is presented with factual statistics in a vernacular that common public would understand. And then comes the interesting part. Most of us thought female feticide was an issue brooding in rural, low income and illiterate parts of India, but the reality is very different. Female feticide is happening more around us than far from us. It is more common in the rich than in poor, in literate than illiterate and in posh than low income families. Satyamev Jayate, at this point, places us at the epicenter of the problem! Nobody has ever done this!
This inspiring structure continues with more tragic real life stories, history and origins of the issue and then it tells us how some people are fighting it. The show reveals the large cracks in the judicial and executive body of our government and presents us with some alarming repercussions of this issue. Every social issue in our society has a devastating rippling effect. Female feticide leads to reduced female to male ratio is one thing, understanding that female feticide can also lead to increased number of gang rapes is another thing. This is what this show does. It creates urgency, it creates an atmosphere for action.
Last but not the least, this show has another motif. It isn't simply a messenger to report crimes and mishaps in your neighborhood, it is trying to be an immediate platform for a change. It is an office to collect petitions directly from general public aimed at the judicial system to ask for specific and immediate changes in our society. And nobody should be left out, petitions can be made through text, emails and by postal mail as well. By the way, it's not the government or the police who brings a change, it's you and I. I won't keep on dissecting this show any further, there's no point, you can watch the first episode in the video below. But if this show can't inspire us, nothing can.
***** / *****
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