Daman Review - Salutes The Legendary Work Of A Doctor In Tribal Areas

The Odia film DAMaN received a positive response from the critics and audiences in its own industry, which led to a Hindi-dubbed release. The film is not a regular popcorn entertainer, as we usually see outside films (from the south) coming to Hindi and are usually watched for that kind of content. Daman is inspired by true events from Odisha, which are indeed socially awakening. The overdramatic treatment spoils artistic values here, but isn't that up to industry standards? The same happens with many south Indian films that are made up to their standards but are like, what do you say, cheap or below par for our Hindi cinema standards. Nevertheless, Daman still finds its motive right and sails through the wind.Daman is the story of a recently passed-out MBBS student, Dr. Siddharth (Babushaan Mohanty), who is posted to Janbai PHC, a cut-off tribal area in the Malkangiri district of Odisha. Siddharth wants to open a hospital of his own, but for that he has to complete a 3-year practise in a rural area. Reluctant about the circumstances, Siddharth is forced to spend 3 years at Janbai PHC. As he sees that there are no basic facilities available in the village, he decides to resign within a day. However, his departure is halted by the pleadings of a father who brings his adolescent daughter to him. Siddharth learns that the girl has malaria and treats her well, only to have a conscience about treating the entire village, which is unaware of medical science and still prefers black magic and similar things. How Siddharth brings about a revolution with the help of two colleagues and medical officers is all that Daman has to show.Daman is set in 2015, but then, I remember watching a Marathi film with a similar subject, Dr. Prakash Baba Amte (2014). Daman is only about a doctor's work over 3 years, whereas Dr. Prakash Amte's story is for a lifetime and much bigger and better. The man won the Reman Megsese Award after all. Daman looks tiny in front of that, but otherwise, it's a good story for a less-known cinema industry. I don't know why people hyped Daman on social media by referring to the Kannada novel, Chigurida Kanasu (an inspiration behind the Kannada film of the same name and the Bollywood film, Swades). Let me tell you, there are no similarities if you are judging the film by the poster and trailer. Daman is expanded to "Malaria Eradication in Inaccessible Areas." Get that right. The screenplay might have been dragged out multiple times, but the main essence is kept alive, and that's all that matters here.I haven't seen any films of Babushaan Mohanty before, so it will be more like a fresh start for me to judge him as an actor. I don't know the industry standards of Odia like I know about other 14-15 cinema industries, so I'll be frank and comparably brutal. Babushaan Mohanty has put his soul into the character, which is made soulless by the screenwriting. He still looks convincing, though. But you know, I have that legendary image of Nana Patekar in my mind from Prakash Amte, so everything sounds low-volume. Dipanwit Dashmohapatra and Manaswini Takni have done a decent job, while the supporting cast is okay.Daman has a few artificial extravaganzas that harm the realistic sense of the film. Nonetheless, there is a strong emotional touch to recover the lost ground. The music is somewhat good, but the songs don't work as well as they should. They just stretch things that you have already predicted in your mind. All the technical aspects look fine accordingly, and the cinematography puts some eye-pleasing frames on the screen. Vishal Mourya and Debi Prasad Lenka's direction definitely has some flaws. Only if they could have avoided it... Or is it completely okay in the Odia industry? I'm not sure, but for me, with enough experience of world cinema, this certainly looks a bit mediocre. It's the appeal and power of the content that let Daman run away from those mistakes. It teaches you about the importance of a doctor in our society. More than our urban societies, it's those tribal and neglected people who need them the most. We have all the facilities and enough money to buy them, and yet we don't value the doctors. Now just think about tribal people who neither have facilities nor the money to buy them. It is also a big message to all the doctors and aspiring doctors. You don't have to be an army officer, police officer, or defence worker to serve the nation; you can do it just fine by being a doctor as well. That's the biggest learning from Daman. Watch it for that.