I think I probably knew this was going to be a depressing film because it was about low caste farmers in Rajasthan fighting against corrupt officials.

You know that there probably will be a little joy,and a lot of victimisation of anyone without power and privilege who tries to speak against corruption.

Writer/director Vivek Chaudhary gives us a story about one farming family. Vardibai is an elderly opium poppy farmer and mother to her middle-aged son Mangilal, who has benefited from an education and works as a primary school teacher. He is an agitator though, and tries to get the other opium poppy farmers of the district to band together to protest against the corrupt practices of the narcotics commissioner. The officials use bullying tactics and bribery, including imposing arbitrary payments for low morphine crops and cancelling poppy licenses at will (and as punishment). For farmers living on the edge of poverty, the opium poppy trade has been something that has kept them afloat. Victimisation by officials is more likely to push them to the black market trade, something that can mean extended imprisonment if caught.

At first Mangilal is an affable and extroverted voice of the people. Holding meetings and rallies and getting together petitions. It’s when he organises meetings with officials that we can see at what a disadvantage he is. Caste it’s not really mentioned until later in the film, but the fact that he is lower caste, even though caste is supposedly not a thing any more in India, plays a large part in the way he is overlooked.

There are some pithy moments with his outspoken and long suffering mother, where she points out that he is all about “brother farmers” but she is the one doing the actual farming. She is representative of the farmers who just want to keep their heads down and accept that bribery is part of the industry – a necessary evil. Mangilal feels that he has an obligation to stand up for change as he is one of the few farmers with an education.

Sitting on the sidelines, we have a feeling that this is not going to end well, and what we see is the endless power of a government to punish those who try and make them accountable. It is tragic, particularly watching the impact on Vardibai. It doesn’t dampen Mangilal’s optimism, though, and it’s hard to say who is right and who is wrong, just that they probably have no power to change a system.