• Manish Kumar Pandey
• Aarzoo Sharma

Abstract Do Bigha Zamin (dir. Bimal Roy, 1953) and Peepli Live (dir. Anusha Rizvi, 2010) are two bollywood films from different periods and contexts that show farmers walking through the same debt trap. This article analyzes the contribution of Do Bigha Zamin and Peepli Live in understanding the life of a peasant and its components which are relevant to untangle the farmer’s journey in the film, and the rise of modernity which changed the trajectory of agricultural films in India after the 1990s. Shambu, the main protagonist of Do Bigha Zamin, is portrayed as a simple farmer who got entrapped in the debt cycle by the landlord and subsequently forced to quit his profession, to fulfill the decree of what he called “mai-baap”. Shambu's failure to save his land is demonstrated through the rationale of “development” from enterprises and state, which had the fundamental influence on agriculturalist folks till today. While Natha in Peepli Live also falls into debt and reluctantly agreed to suicide that gets sensationalized by the news media. Deluge by the promises of politicians, Natha escape from home, thereafter, confluence happens between the politicians that showed they were using Natha's suicide for their ends. Do Bigha Zamin and Peepli Live embodied the social state of their respective times, and sketched the intangible sorrow, portrayed in other farmer based Indian films, that tell a story which is very less often gets heard.

Keywords: farmer, debt, suicide, social state, media

"Journey of Farmer Portrayals in Indian Cinema: An Analysis in the Spectacle of ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 7, page no.b704-b713, July-2022, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2207186.pdf

"Journey of Farmer Portrayals in Indian Cinema: An Analysis in the Spectacle of ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 7, page no. ppb704-b713, July-2022, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2207186.pdf