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It has been long ago when Malgudi Days – TV Serial was aired on DoorDarshan. It was able to get people’s love based on its simplicity and content.
The episode we are reviewing here is titled as Daakiya (The Postman) – focused on – A Missing Mail.
| TV Serial | : | Malgudi Days |
| Director | : | Shankar Nag |
| Created By | : | R. K. Narayan |
| Sketch Artist | : | R. K. Laxman |
| Hindi Translation | : | Sharad Joshi |
| Actors | : | Master Manjunath [Swami], Girish Karnad [Swami’s father], Vaishali Kasaravalli [Swami’s Mother], B Jayashree [Swami’s Grand Mother], Kanti Madiya [ Muni / Muniya ], B Jayashree [Muni’s Wife], Somu [Shopkeeper], Teddy White [American / Newyork tourist] and others (including but not limited to Anant Nag, Dada, Vishnuvardhan, Shankar Nag, Ramesh Bhat, Padmini Sirish) |
The incidents depicted in this episode belongs to the time when the post is the most convenient way of communication. It was not only cheaper but also offered a lot of services like Money Order which make people awaiting for the same eagerly. Actually, the relation with the post office, post, postman and the postmaster became emotional those days. The episode begins with the entry of a postman, and it is no way less than a hero’s entry in a film. See how he adjusts his glasses and rides his cycle, his expressions and gestures are no less than a brave warrior going for a deadly battle who is confident enough to win it:)
It is also nice to see the scenes where he meet several people on his way to deliver the posts for the day. A postman knows almost everyone in the area, and in a village like Malgudi, almost everyone. He knew the likes/dislikes/circumstance of the people. Also there are people who are illiterate, and the postman’s unwritten duty also includes, read their letters for them! And write the reply also in case needed! It may look a little out-of-place nowadays, but it is factual representation. The story writer and director both deserve full credit here.
If you pay attention to the stuff, you will realize how properly the village is explored in the TV serial, for example see the cow wandering on the roads.
One day when sitting in the post office, the postman got to know that there is a letter for Ramanujam! He got very enthusiastic to deliver it. When asking for the reason for the enthusiasm by a fellow worker, the postman lands into flashback memories.
The bond between Kamakshi and the postman is good to watch on screen. Also the marriage preparation in the village is filmed really well.
The way the postman takes decision during the marriage of Kamakshi is the high point of the story and shows the emotional side as well as wisdom of him.
If to talk about acting the entire episode revolves mainly around the character of the postman played by Ashok Mandanna. He performs well, his body language and eyes speaks a lot. The actress playing Kamakshi doesn’t have that much scenes, but she is average. The actor playing his father is good. The cinematography is realistic. The dialogs in the end could have been different. Overall a nice episode exploring the village, the people living there, and their bond pretty well. Today when it became more and more difficult to find people who got right emotions for the family members, family values are not that much important, people are getting more and more self-centered and finding happiness in material stuff; this episode is like – a must watch. And yes, the episode also explores the role played by Telegrams in the lives of people for more than one and half century (before it discontinued recently).
