To die or not to die is the question. Ever wondered how a short, ugly, and an unsuccessful man from an obscure village can become the bone of contention for the politicos, fodder for the media specialists and an albatross on the government’s shoulder. Writer cum director Anusha Rizvi presented a glaring and inescapable truth in her venture Peepli Live.

After a long hiatus in the film industry, which has got the blemish for its inclination to portray larger than life image, Peepli Live is a rustic breakthrough. This skillfully etched film tells story of an aam aadmi and in the process, upholds what effect the societal pressure had on him. Once again pastoral simplicity surrenders before the conniving urban populace.

The ever-widening canvas of Peepli live has perhaps done the trick for the film. Starting from the nightmarish life of the farmers in the village to the media's gluttony for grabbing eyeballs and government's sudden wake up from the slumber to unabated suffering of the villagers, the film captures them all. Indian Ocean’s song "Arrey India sir yeh cheez durandar" says its all.

Omkar Das Manikpuri, better identified as Natha was on the verge of mendicancy and he was about to lose his farming land to the bank for being unable to repay his loan. Committing suicide seemed the only way out for him since government has a scheme running which gives Rs 1 lakh to the family of the farmer who commits suicide to escape the pangs of pverty. Budhia succeeds in cementing the idea in Natha's mind.

The Peepli Live is a jab on the defunct government that cannot assure a decent living to farmer and respect for his life. Natha represents thousands of farmers who went on suicide spree during the 90s and yet even after they goaded their lives, nothing constructive came from the government. Media intervenes at the moment when it matters the most (to better the TRP). They could smell a story behind Natha and like hungry hounds they barge into his already disturbed life to make him les miserable.

Peepli live has been successful in bringing the anomalies before our eyes. A poor farmers with his eight packs (read bag of bones) gives up its struggle one day and dies while digging a land deep, people reach the zenith of desperation and prepares to sacrifice life for the sake of money, but life continues to be a merry affair for the government and its representatives at every level.

The satire in the film is both subtle and blatant as it takes a dig at the worthlessness of government schemes like Lal Bahadur and Annapurna and the hollow fellow feelings of the entire governmental hierarchy. The blame game, which both Centre and State governments are adept at, made space for the media to come and create a jingle not at all melodious to Natha. He is crestfallen and dejected.

The actors hailing from the Bhadwai village in Madhya Pradesh and the cast members from Habib Tanvir's theatre troupe deserve a standing ovation. Someone go give a pat at Shankar Raman’s back. He knew the wrinkles and sagging jaws of the villagers so perfectly. He takes us on a captivating ride across the nooks and corners of the region. Watching Peepli live is like riding a jalopy having a new engine. Unconventional treatment of a plot told thousand times before makes it stand apart. You need to catch it live.