Mukti Bhavan (Hotel Salvation) - Story Structure Analysis
For a very long time, we all had been waiting for an awards ceremony where indie filmmaking would takeover the current wave of 'cinema for masses', which only provides the same product with difference packaging to the same audience. What's sad is that people buy it and are happy with their choices. With Jio Filmfare Awards 2018, indie filmmakers from India have finally won their battle against giants like Kapoors and Khans who have always overshadowed the industry.
'Mukti Bhawan' (Hotel Salvation), written & directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani, who proved his passion with his award winning short film 'Kush', won Best Screenplay award at Filmfare Awards 2018. What made him win this award? I won't comment over Filmfare Jury's previous decisions since they have kept giving awards to less deserving people but if 2018 brought luck to this film and in screenplay category, what made it an easy to grasp yet an unconventional cinema?
Over my tenure at filmschool, I came across a theory of Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell. It talks about the lifecycle of any protagonist who is the center of our story. The rest of the elements revolve around him/her in specific order to keep the flow in rhythm. Most commonly used in superhero films, Hero's Journey can be applied on various genres and can win big time if done correctly. With development over the years, the 12-stage process is what we are going to examine Mukti Bhawan on.
Let's begin:
1) Ordinary World
This is a stage where we get to know who our protagonist is in his daily life. What kind of person he is, what kind of people does he live with. This first stage answers all our questions that makes us easy for us to empathize with the character. In Mukti Bhawan, we don't see this stage prominently since the film beging with a dream that happens to be tha base of what is going to happen next but over the period of time, this stage arrives and we get to know about Adil Hussain's character, his job, his family life, etc, which is going to get disturbed by our next stage.
2) Call To Adventure
This call for our hero can be anything. Be it a threatening phone call or a simple conversation between a father and his son. The only aim of this call/incident is to provide our protagonist the discomfort in his regular life. This call invites him to embark on a journey he has never been on before. Mukti Bhawan starts with this call where our hero is having a conversation with his father who wishes to travel to Varanasi where he can rest in peace.
3) Refusal Of The Call
Our hero knows that the journey isn't easy and a lot of thorns are going to come in his/her way. The comfort of home is being missed and for this reason, our hero refuses to continue. This refusal makes us viewers feel what the character is going through and how tough this whole thing can be for him/her. In film, when son and father begin to pack for their trip, we can sense a feeling of doubt in protagonist's behavior. He decides to work for his office while staying away but he isn't in favor of that too. Once the father and son reaches Banaras, the son literally asks his father to travel back their home as he isn't ready for this journey.
4) Meeting The Mentor
At this stage, our hero is searching for some hope, some weapon to defend himself with, some advice to continue with, some training to pursue his mission with. A new character or someone already from the story steps forward for the aid of our hero and helps him/her either morally or financially, or in any possible way that can assist to continue the journey. Vimla, an old lady at Mukti Bhawan who is also waiting for her life to end, works as some sort of Mentor for our protagonist. Though she isn't a perfect example, the protagonist gets some sort of relief with the wisdom the lady has for both father and son.
5) Crossing The Threshold
Once the meeting with mentor is over, the protagonist agrees to accept the call and steps forward to fight the battle. Rajiv (played by Adil Hussain) agrees to fulfil his father's last wish and starts living in Mukti Bhawan. Their daily life gets a new routine and a fresh start takes place.
6) Tests, Allies & Enemies
In order to win any battle, one must overcome his weak points and learn new skills in order to survive till end. This stage comes up with elements to test the skill of our protagonist. Tests coud be physical or mental but they must make the protagonist do something he has never done before. During the process, he might make new friends or enemies. These allies and foes are not necessarily physical, rather they are just the external forces that either help him or stop him from moving forward.
Let's take an example of a very short scene that brings the test for Rajiv to pass. While he is over phone call, Rajiv is asked by his father to fetch him some milk for which he literally visits a cattle farm nearby Mukti Bhawan to get milk. He fails to bring some milk for his father.
The next scene bring us both father and son in a two shot conversation where Rajiv is again on an important phone call and his father refuses to eat the food cooked by Rajiv due to bad taste. On the whole, this stage keeps bringing tests for Rajiv where he asks himself again and again that whether his father is his friend or foe. Why is he leaving is pragmatic life for this utter nonsense?
7) Approach To The Inmost Cave
The inmost cave is not always a physical cave/location. In case of Mukti Bhawan, this stage sometimes takes us into the world of inner conflicts of our protagonist as well as to the actual cave; the cremation site near Mukti Bhawan where his father will eventually be going.
The approach to the inmost cave demands preparation in advance for the greater unknown that is on its way. We can say that this works as a 'second call to adventure' that puts the feeling of doubts in our protagonists once again. This small but vital phase helps audience in understanding the endurance of our protagonist as well as the ultimate test that is just a few mins away.
Rajiv opens up in front of his father at Mukti Bhawan and tells him about Daya's (Father) oppression on which Daya defends himself. The following scene shows Daya falling sick. This small phase of sickness seems like an end where Rajiv starts preparing for the final rites. A small conversations takes place one more time where both father and son share an apology and this brings both of them closer once again.
8) Ordeal
This phase of torture brings more difficulty to the life of our Protagonist. The hero uses all his skills and tactics in order to fight against this deadly foe that can be his inner conflict too. At this stage, we can tell that everything that is dear to our protagonist, is at stake and failure will only bring constant grief. An incident of great importance takes place that either provides greater authority or an insight neceassry to finish the journey.
In film, we see Rajiv's wife and daughter arriving at Mukti Bhawan to spend time with Daya. Their intention is to take him back home but Daya refuses to go and finally the wife and daughter leave. In coming days, Rajiv comes to know that his daughter has refused to marry. At this stage, we come to know that the dearest family is at stake now and Rajiv must do something to hold everything together. For all the tragedies, he holds Daya responsible and hates him more than ever before.
9) Reward
After winning the battle against enemy, the protagonist is rewarded either with some physical elements or with some intangible gifts that uplifts his energy and prepares him for his return to the ordinary world. For this stage, all the celebrations must be put aside for a while as the final battle is still left to be fought.
Vimla finally dies, leaving Daya heartbroken. He and Vimla had some sort of chemistry that was left in between after her death. After the incident, Daya asks Rajiv to head back home but Rajiv expresses his wish to say. Daya insists on living alone now at Mukti Bhawan until his time comes. For instance, this works as a reward for Rajiv as he can now head back home and try to put his life back on track again.
10) The Road Back
To study human emotions, this is an ideal stage. The protagonist leaves for his ordinary world where he came from. This time, his fear is replaced with some sort of relief, yet the restlessness is still there. Hero has to choose between his own comfort and that of a greater relief.
Once Rajiv comes back to his home, his regular life begins. Though everything seems normal, Rajiv's inner peace is gone and all he can think of is Daya and Mukti Bhawan.
11) Resurrection
This is the stage where hero faces death for the last time. He must defeat it in order to keep himself and people around safe. This stage brings the importance to the greater good rather than the personal objectives of the protagonist.
In film, Rajiv finally gets to know about his father's (Daya) death. Once again, the family goes back to Varanasi for the afterdeath rituals.
12) Return With the Elixir
Best way to tell about this final stage is that hero grows up to be a man. He learns from his mistakes, from life, from death, from enemies and allies. His whole journey turns him into a different person. His life comes back on track. His enemies are punished. The life never remains same as before.
In case of Rajiv, he comes to know about the importance of his father's last wish, his teachings and his role in Rajiv's life. This whole concept of salvation (mukti) is learnt by this middle aged man who still has some time left to live and must embark on the same journey either in same or in different way.
Hotel Salvation is not a superhero film but it can look like one with some little effort of those who are ready to analyze it.
Go watch this film if you haven't seen it yet.
Comment below and let me know what do you think about this analysis.
FIN
'Mukti Bhawan' (Hotel Salvation), written & directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani, who proved his passion with his award winning short film 'Kush', won Best Screenplay award at Filmfare Awards 2018. What made him win this award? I won't comment over Filmfare Jury's previous decisions since they have kept giving awards to less deserving people but if 2018 brought luck to this film and in screenplay category, what made it an easy to grasp yet an unconventional cinema?
Over my tenure at filmschool, I came across a theory of Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell. It talks about the lifecycle of any protagonist who is the center of our story. The rest of the elements revolve around him/her in specific order to keep the flow in rhythm. Most commonly used in superhero films, Hero's Journey can be applied on various genres and can win big time if done correctly. With development over the years, the 12-stage process is what we are going to examine Mukti Bhawan on.
Let's begin:
1) Ordinary World
This is a stage where we get to know who our protagonist is in his daily life. What kind of person he is, what kind of people does he live with. This first stage answers all our questions that makes us easy for us to empathize with the character. In Mukti Bhawan, we don't see this stage prominently since the film beging with a dream that happens to be tha base of what is going to happen next but over the period of time, this stage arrives and we get to know about Adil Hussain's character, his job, his family life, etc, which is going to get disturbed by our next stage.
2) Call To Adventure
This call for our hero can be anything. Be it a threatening phone call or a simple conversation between a father and his son. The only aim of this call/incident is to provide our protagonist the discomfort in his regular life. This call invites him to embark on a journey he has never been on before. Mukti Bhawan starts with this call where our hero is having a conversation with his father who wishes to travel to Varanasi where he can rest in peace.
3) Refusal Of The Call
Our hero knows that the journey isn't easy and a lot of thorns are going to come in his/her way. The comfort of home is being missed and for this reason, our hero refuses to continue. This refusal makes us viewers feel what the character is going through and how tough this whole thing can be for him/her. In film, when son and father begin to pack for their trip, we can sense a feeling of doubt in protagonist's behavior. He decides to work for his office while staying away but he isn't in favor of that too. Once the father and son reaches Banaras, the son literally asks his father to travel back their home as he isn't ready for this journey.
4) Meeting The Mentor
At this stage, our hero is searching for some hope, some weapon to defend himself with, some advice to continue with, some training to pursue his mission with. A new character or someone already from the story steps forward for the aid of our hero and helps him/her either morally or financially, or in any possible way that can assist to continue the journey. Vimla, an old lady at Mukti Bhawan who is also waiting for her life to end, works as some sort of Mentor for our protagonist. Though she isn't a perfect example, the protagonist gets some sort of relief with the wisdom the lady has for both father and son.
5) Crossing The Threshold
Once the meeting with mentor is over, the protagonist agrees to accept the call and steps forward to fight the battle. Rajiv (played by Adil Hussain) agrees to fulfil his father's last wish and starts living in Mukti Bhawan. Their daily life gets a new routine and a fresh start takes place.
6) Tests, Allies & Enemies
In order to win any battle, one must overcome his weak points and learn new skills in order to survive till end. This stage comes up with elements to test the skill of our protagonist. Tests coud be physical or mental but they must make the protagonist do something he has never done before. During the process, he might make new friends or enemies. These allies and foes are not necessarily physical, rather they are just the external forces that either help him or stop him from moving forward.
Let's take an example of a very short scene that brings the test for Rajiv to pass. While he is over phone call, Rajiv is asked by his father to fetch him some milk for which he literally visits a cattle farm nearby Mukti Bhawan to get milk. He fails to bring some milk for his father.
The next scene bring us both father and son in a two shot conversation where Rajiv is again on an important phone call and his father refuses to eat the food cooked by Rajiv due to bad taste. On the whole, this stage keeps bringing tests for Rajiv where he asks himself again and again that whether his father is his friend or foe. Why is he leaving is pragmatic life for this utter nonsense?
7) Approach To The Inmost Cave
The inmost cave is not always a physical cave/location. In case of Mukti Bhawan, this stage sometimes takes us into the world of inner conflicts of our protagonist as well as to the actual cave; the cremation site near Mukti Bhawan where his father will eventually be going.
The approach to the inmost cave demands preparation in advance for the greater unknown that is on its way. We can say that this works as a 'second call to adventure' that puts the feeling of doubts in our protagonists once again. This small but vital phase helps audience in understanding the endurance of our protagonist as well as the ultimate test that is just a few mins away.
Rajiv opens up in front of his father at Mukti Bhawan and tells him about Daya's (Father) oppression on which Daya defends himself. The following scene shows Daya falling sick. This small phase of sickness seems like an end where Rajiv starts preparing for the final rites. A small conversations takes place one more time where both father and son share an apology and this brings both of them closer once again.
8) Ordeal
This phase of torture brings more difficulty to the life of our Protagonist. The hero uses all his skills and tactics in order to fight against this deadly foe that can be his inner conflict too. At this stage, we can tell that everything that is dear to our protagonist, is at stake and failure will only bring constant grief. An incident of great importance takes place that either provides greater authority or an insight neceassry to finish the journey.
In film, we see Rajiv's wife and daughter arriving at Mukti Bhawan to spend time with Daya. Their intention is to take him back home but Daya refuses to go and finally the wife and daughter leave. In coming days, Rajiv comes to know that his daughter has refused to marry. At this stage, we come to know that the dearest family is at stake now and Rajiv must do something to hold everything together. For all the tragedies, he holds Daya responsible and hates him more than ever before.
9) Reward
After winning the battle against enemy, the protagonist is rewarded either with some physical elements or with some intangible gifts that uplifts his energy and prepares him for his return to the ordinary world. For this stage, all the celebrations must be put aside for a while as the final battle is still left to be fought.
Vimla finally dies, leaving Daya heartbroken. He and Vimla had some sort of chemistry that was left in between after her death. After the incident, Daya asks Rajiv to head back home but Rajiv expresses his wish to say. Daya insists on living alone now at Mukti Bhawan until his time comes. For instance, this works as a reward for Rajiv as he can now head back home and try to put his life back on track again.
10) The Road Back
To study human emotions, this is an ideal stage. The protagonist leaves for his ordinary world where he came from. This time, his fear is replaced with some sort of relief, yet the restlessness is still there. Hero has to choose between his own comfort and that of a greater relief.
Once Rajiv comes back to his home, his regular life begins. Though everything seems normal, Rajiv's inner peace is gone and all he can think of is Daya and Mukti Bhawan.
11) Resurrection
This is the stage where hero faces death for the last time. He must defeat it in order to keep himself and people around safe. This stage brings the importance to the greater good rather than the personal objectives of the protagonist.
In film, Rajiv finally gets to know about his father's (Daya) death. Once again, the family goes back to Varanasi for the afterdeath rituals.
12) Return With the Elixir
Best way to tell about this final stage is that hero grows up to be a man. He learns from his mistakes, from life, from death, from enemies and allies. His whole journey turns him into a different person. His life comes back on track. His enemies are punished. The life never remains same as before.
In case of Rajiv, he comes to know about the importance of his father's last wish, his teachings and his role in Rajiv's life. This whole concept of salvation (mukti) is learnt by this middle aged man who still has some time left to live and must embark on the same journey either in same or in different way.
Hotel Salvation is not a superhero film but it can look like one with some little effort of those who are ready to analyze it.
Go watch this film if you haven't seen it yet.
Comment below and let me know what do you think about this analysis.
FIN
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