The Bollywood film Jugnuma has been released. The film had already made history when it premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, becoming only the second film in 30 years to feature in the festival’s competitive sections.
In their reviews, Indian media, while introducing new interpretations, have called it magical realism, in which Manoj Bajpayee plays the role of a king, and the story is written in a highly fictional style. The story goes something like this:
Long ago, a king ruled his empire from a golden palace. He won everyone’s heart with polite smiles and kindness. But one night, a fire broke out in his palace. In the smoke, his true face appeared—his kindness was a performance, not for love but for praise. When the flames died down, he turned against those who had built his throne.
This is the story of Jugnuma – The Fable, Manoj Bajpayee’s film, which tells a tale of kings, palaces, and mysterious fire.
It is an allegory, one that creates unease rather than comfort. In the film, Dev (Bajpayee) takes flight off a cliff, like a hawk, hovering over his 5,000-acre fruit orchard. He seems god-like and detached, but when he descends, the laborers whisper, “A rich man is passing.” Director Ram Reddy uses magical realism as a form of critique.
The film is an allegory of colonialism and displacement. Dev’s estate once belonged to the villagers, but was given to loyalists of the British crown. Now their heirs work as laborers. When fire breaks out, the laborers put it out, but by morning, they are the ones arrested.
Does resistance come from the land itself? The film unfolds like a mystery, but the “why” matters more than the “who.” The glow of the fireflies is a warning, reminding Dev of his true nature. He is not a villain but misguided. The film is a story of a family’s search for home and the villagers’ longing for their land. Dev’s family can be seen as colonialists, as lost fairies, or as divine beings. The imagery of flight carries multiple meanings. In magical realism, the miracle lies in the eyes of the beholder.
