We discussed in class the possibility of an exilic experience within the confines of ones' own national territory. Zinda Bhaagexemplifies this particular scenario where three young Pakistani men face a terrible situation in their own-homeland and they are left with no option but to 'Zinda Bhaag' from Pakistan through illegitimate and tortuous 'dunkis'.
The interesting thing about this exile within your own country is its' cyclic and continuous character. In Zindabhaag, the national borders become troublesome as they can be seen as a hurdle that the three young men have to cross in their efforts to escape Pakistan- a land with no possibilities and severe marginalization of the middle-class. Obviously however, these borders are not easy to cross and demand risking your own life creating a 'no-way-out' situation. This has been one of the recurrent themes in the movie, where it starts on a melancholy note where a corpse reaches Pakistan and ends on a similar note when another Pakistani guy dies due to suffocation on his risky route to Europe. So this exile works in a peculiar way. First the, middle-class experiences exile at the hands of the wealthy elite and a skewed society which continues to marginalize them through its condescending ways leaving no possibility of a dignified life. As a reaction when the marginalized try to escape this brutality through quitting this space altogether, even that fails as only misery awaits them outside. This has been highlighted by the stories of Khaldi, Taambi and Chitta. Taambi goes to Germany and gets jailed for two years and back home his father disowns him altogether on account of maintaining no contact with the family. Taambi could not possibly call back home as that would mean informing his family about his horrible situation. Similarly, Khaldi faces a continuous exile as well where on one hand he is under immense pressure from his mother who keeps demanding money out of him to support the family expenses (amidst growing inflation) and outside, he continuously dwindles in the 'gambling business' to meet these requirements - it reaches a point where he worsens both his ties with his closed ones (Rubina break up) and his success rate in the derby gamble too. Even chitta faces a similar dilemma, working under Pehlvaan he continues to be enslaved and lives a pathetic life of a sub-ordinate bookie and even when he tries to abandon it - the powerful Pehlvan threatens him with severe consequences.
I think this 'no-way-out' scenario amplifies the atrocious exilic experience. - It focuses on the idea that during exile even 'alternative options' that are normally assumed to work; fail miserably, reinforcing the exile on the subject turning into a vicious cyclic experience.
The interesting thing about this exile within your own country is its' cyclic and continuous character. In Zindabhaag, the national borders become troublesome as they can be seen as a hurdle that the three young men have to cross in their efforts to escape Pakistan- a land with no possibilities and severe marginalization of the middle-class. Obviously however, these borders are not easy to cross and demand risking your own life creating a 'no-way-out' situation. This has been one of the recurrent themes in the movie, where it starts on a melancholy note where a corpse reaches Pakistan and ends on a similar note when another Pakistani guy dies due to suffocation on his risky route to Europe. So this exile works in a peculiar way. First the, middle-class experiences exile at the hands of the wealthy elite and a skewed society which continues to marginalize them through its condescending ways leaving no possibility of a dignified life. As a reaction when the marginalized try to escape this brutality through quitting this space altogether, even that fails as only misery awaits them outside. This has been highlighted by the stories of Khaldi, Taambi and Chitta. Taambi goes to Germany and gets jailed for two years and back home his father disowns him altogether on account of maintaining no contact with the family. Taambi could not possibly call back home as that would mean informing his family about his horrible situation. Similarly, Khaldi faces a continuous exile as well where on one hand he is under immense pressure from his mother who keeps demanding money out of him to support the family expenses (amidst growing inflation) and outside, he continuously dwindles in the 'gambling business' to meet these requirements - it reaches a point where he worsens both his ties with his closed ones (Rubina break up) and his success rate in the derby gamble too. Even chitta faces a similar dilemma, working under Pehlvaan he continues to be enslaved and lives a pathetic life of a sub-ordinate bookie and even when he tries to abandon it - the powerful Pehlvan threatens him with severe consequences.
I think this 'no-way-out' scenario amplifies the atrocious exilic experience. - It focuses on the idea that during exile even 'alternative options' that are normally assumed to work; fail miserably, reinforcing the exile on the subject turning into a vicious cyclic experience.
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