Leila
‘Leila’ is a mighty warning about what the future might be
A lot like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ it follows the quest of a woman to find freedom in chains.
What happens when a society begins to run out of its resources? Let me put it this way, what happens when a society that maintains a clear hierarchical structure of who should be privileged enough to use its resources runs out of resources? That very hierarchical structure becomes a selling point in the market then. Those who are rich, financially stable, and most importantly pure blooded, get to keep the clean water and air for the family’s use. While those who are not enough privileged, do not earn in thick green bucks, and certainly carry impure blood are at once subjected to “treatment”. This is where we see ‘Leila’ planting its first seeds to introducing a dystopian era in the year 2040.
Coming from directors Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Kumar, based on Prayaag Akbar’s 2017 titular novel, ‘Leila’ is set in a totalitarian place named Aryavarta which is run by a holographic representation of a semi-god, going by the name Joshi (played by Sanjay Suri). With the gradual decline of the environment surrounding humanity, the border between castes and classes becomes prominent as each community is forced to live in sectors that are divided by tall walls with emphasis on purity, and anyone who dares to mingle with other sectors is heavily punished. Those who are part of mixed marriage, interracial relations are at once charged with transgression and are compelled to join an insitution where they are taught their rightful place in society with the infamous rant, ‘mera janm hi mera karm hai’.
The protagonist, Shalini (played by Huma Querish), is taken away from her daughter Leila and her husband in the very beginning, after she is charged with transgression- her crime being marrying someone outside her religion. Her quest begins as she sets out searching for her daughter when she comes across several hurdles including ruthless assassins, government conspiracies, and the stark reality of the social trajectory that requires her to remain suppressed and not protest. What sets apart ‘Leila’ from its source material is the transformation from the book’s personal perception to the show’s gritty portrayal of extremism. ‘Leila’ is not subtle with its metaphors and there is little reference given about Shalini’s journey as a person, and more emphasis on the state’s foiling of Shalini’s persona.
What truly rings a bell about ‘Leila’ is its direct reference to the country’s present political scenario, where intellectuals are murdered, speech is convoluted and refuted, retraction is a government’s right, and an obsession with a single religion that is not supposed to be the case with a nation claiming to be secular. With several similar points relating to Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, ‘Leila’ is a daring step in showcasing the present like a warning of what the future might hold.
