"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare:
1. Compare various Film Adaptations on 'Macbeth':
Many films have been made from the plays of William Shakespeare. When a literary work or a part of a literary work is used as a base for a film and TV series, it is called film adaptation. Here the written text is turned into visual text, linguistic signs are replaced into visual signs. Few of Shakespeare's works have been adopted in Indian films too.2003 film ‘Maqbool’ by Vishal Bhardwaj is an adaptation of Shakespear’s one of the best tragedies, ‘Macbeth’.
So, here I would like to compare ‘MACBETH ’by William Shakespeare with the film ‘MAQBOOL’ by Vishal Bhardwaj.
When we are trying to compare ‘MACBETH’ with ‘MAQBOOL’ we find so many similarities, as well as contrasts in both of these. Maqbool, was Vishal Bhardwaj’s second film as a director. The film had its North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. And it was also screened in the Marche du Film section of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
The film has a great star cast: Pankaj Kapoor (he wins two awards for this role), Irfan Khan, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, and Piyush Mishra. The screenplay was developed from the drama by Vishal Bhardwaj and Abbas Tyrewala.
At the very outset of the film, we are confronted with a strongly patriarchal set-up: gangster heroes in Bollywood replace families with the mafia and allegiance to the clan becomes synonymous with fealty servitude to the Boss. The world of this mock-family structure in the film is predominantly Muslim as is evident through the characters’ appearances (dresses, countenance, spoken language), repeated visits to the “Darga”, the funeral at the beginning of the film, the ritual slaughter of a goat, a henchman’s refusal to resort to alcohol, the recurrent scenes of characters conducting themselves in prayers, references to “Ramadan”, a celebration of “Eid”, where the Hindu characters Kaka and his son Guddu occupy a subordinate role in the hierarchy of power and organized crime. Thus, Maqbool’s treachery and the consequent death race in the film may apparently seem very much a result of intra-communal conflict, where Muslims kill Muslims. Maqbool, on the other hand, being the protagonist of the film is constantly plagued by the need for legitimacy. Both in terms of time devoted, and in terms of poignancy, Irfan Khan as Maqbool occupies the centre of the narrative. In fact, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, both very prominent figures in the Bollywood hierarchy, had to be made comical in appearance so that they could look dwarfed by Irfan’s presence on the screen. Despite occupying the centre of the film’s narrative, Miyan Maqbool is assailed by doubts. His doubts regarding the yet-to-be-born child of Nimmi, Nimmi’s desperate efforts to assure him that their love is pure (peak), and Maqbool’s agonizing attempts to be convinced that the child belongs to him, are instances of an illegitimate Muslim overreacher’s craving for legitimacy through assimilation. His struggles may be read as a desperate cry for generational survival as he stands outside each and every category of what is known as the “centre”. Bhardwaj here mirrors Shakespeare’s sentiment that no defeat is complete until the vanquished themselves acknowledge their lives’ inadequacy.
The most significant turn in the adaptation is that the film is about Mumbai Underworld. King Duncan of Scotland is actually an underworld don, Abbaji. Macbeth (Maqbool) and Banquo (Kaka) are two of his goons who look after his business. And Lady Macbeth (Nimmi) is actually a mistress of Abbaji and not a wife of Maqbool.
If we talk about the role of three witches in this film ‘Maqbool’ two corrupt policemen predicts the reign of Maqbool in Abbaji’s kingdom. It means the role of witches from the drama is taken by these two corrupt policemen: Pandit and Purohit. But unlike drama, they are not passive fortune tellers. In fact, they are active in manipulating future events. These ’witches’ believes in the ’balance of power’. And they act according to increase the rivalry between the gangs and within the gang. They are the first to ignite the lust for power in Maqbool and psychologically prepare him to question his loyalties to Abbaji. The second deciding factor is Nimmi, mistress of Abbaji. Abbaji secretly falls for Maqbool cool and contrives him to be the next head of the gang and also helps him to achieve the motive.
Analysing the Opening Scene:
The opening of the play is always important as it sets the mood and atmosphere of the play; it alerts the audience or the readers about the future action and therefore captures their attention from the very beginning of the play. It is an important theatrical device, which helps in exposing the plot, theme, setting, and environment and also in highlighting the main issues and concerns of the play. Shakespeare uses certain techniques to open his plays in a more effective manner. Macbeth, for example, opens with thunder and lightning and with the entry of the three witches. Through the conversation of the witches, the audience gets to know about the battle that has already taken place and it is further revealed through their discussion that they intend to meet Macbeth in the near future. Similarly, the thunder and lightning with which the play opens suggest menace and violence.
The opening of both Macbeth and Maqbool is marked with vivid darkness, gloom, heavy rain, thunder and lightning. This “special atmosphere of a Shakespearean tragedy” is brilliantly portrayed by Bhardwaj in Maqbool from the very opening. However, as a director, or more appropriately as an adapter of the play, he has taken certain liberties to mould the film according to his cinematic demands. Therefore, the court of Scotland is replaced with the Mumbai underworld and the two corrupt policemen (Pandit and Purohit) play the role of the three weird sisters. In a preface to Maqbool’s screenplay Bhardwaj explains:
Like every filmmaker, I also wanted to explore the juiciest genre of cinema—the world of gangsters. I was looking for a story that could give me the scope to have the underworld as a backdrop but with a strong human story. During this period, whatever I read, any story or article I read it with only one agenda in mind—to find a story for my gangster film … The first breakthrough in the screenplay was the discovery of witches in our story. What could have made the best parallel to the witches in contemporary India? Of course, cops. (Bhardwaj and Tyrewala vi)
When Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in the year 1606, the idea of witches worked well to heighten the suspense and mystery in the play. This idea of introducing supernatural elements into the play was welcomed by the audience in Elizabethan times but when Bhardwaj decided to make Maqbool in the year 2003, no audience would have accepted the concept of witches making prophecies for the protagonist. It would have become an unreal and unimaginative idea to believe in. Therefore, these changes on the part of the director added a real perspective to the film.
Shakespeare’s intention to weave witches into the fabric of the tragedy was to create the atmosphere of fear, the task that was assigned to the two policemen by Bhardwaj in Maqbool. Maqbool has innumerable instances of encounters, either by Pandit or Purohit or by Maqbool’s gang. In fact, the film witnesses a police encounter, where inspector Purohit shoots a local gangster Sadiq from point-blank range. He dies on the spot and blood splashes all around. These encounters help to create an atmosphere of fear in the film. Other than creating an atmosphere of fear, the witches in the play also act as the soothsayers. witches confront Macbeth and Banquo when they are returning from the battlefield and make prophecies first for Macbeth and later on for Banquo as well. They greet Macbeth first as Thane of Glamis, then as Thane of Cawdor and finally as the king. Bhardwaj draws an interesting parallel in Maqbool through the character of inspector Pandit, who like the witches of Macbeth is able to make prophecies through reading a horoscope. From the very opening of the play till the end “we are confronted by mystery, darkness, abnormality, hideousness: and therefore by fear” The similar patterns of fear, mystery, suspense and darkness also brood upon the film.
Role of Witches:
Significantly, these two police inspectors are projected as quite prominently Hindu. Their eager zest for astrology, the wearing of their hair in “shakhas”, their elaborate discussions on the power of “Shani”, “Mangal” and “Shukra”, and their repeated references to the ill-effects of “grahan”, gives us an uneasy sensation that we are after all dealing not with intra-communal, but inter-communal violence. A shot of red-turbaned Hindus confronting Maqbool’s prominently Muslim followers in front of Kaka’s house; and after Kaka’s assassination, the close shot of a Hindu deity dissolving into a very pronounced Muslim ambience where Abbaji’s death ceremony is being conducted, brings forth an uneasy reminder of the cyclic storms of religiously fomented violence that plagues India even today.
When Macbeth asks about his demise, witches tell him that the jungle arriving at Places will bring his doom. A similar prediction is used here. On Maqbool's query Policemen tells him the sea's arrival at his palace will bring his room. Such a prophecy, on a literal level, is impossible to turn true. But the custom comes to Maqbool's palace to arrest him, due to his smuggling from the sea route.
The motives for the crime:
“Dark secrecy and night are in Shakespeare ever the badges of crime”. Both Macbeth and Maqbool use the darkness of night as a shield to hide their heinous crimes. Seeking refuge in the night’s dark hour they fulfil their deepest desires. A.C Bradley is of the opinion that “all the scenes which at once recur to memory take place either at night or in some dark spot. The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, murder of Banquo … all come in night-scenes”. However, it is important to note here, that though the murder of Abba Ji also takes place at night as the murder of Duncan in the play yet the motives behind the crime are different. In the play, the “ambition” of Macbeth to become the king was the sole motive behind killing Duncan, who was like a father figure to him. But unlike the play, Maqbool murders Abba Ji because of his sexual jealousy. His primary motive is to gain Nimmi’s love and therefore taking Abba Ji's position becomes secondary. Before tracing the journey of Maqbool from Abba Ji's right-hand man to his murderer, it is important to mention that, in the play, the murder of Duncan is not the focal point: “the action … hurries through seven very brief scenes of mounting suspense to a terrible crisis, which is reached, in the murder of Duncan, at the beginning of the second act”. In other words in Macbeth, the murder is committed at the very beginning of the second act but in Maqbool, the murder of Abba Ji takes place when half of the film is over. It is at this juncture that the film reaches its climax. This shift points out the change in the perspective of Bhardwaj – he wanted to weave his crime thriller around the theme of sexual jealousy, where Nimmi is a throne for Maqbool and killing Abba ji is the route to achieve that throne. Therefore more than half of the film revolves around the murder of Abba Ji.
The art of characterization:
However, it is important to note that characters undergo a transformation when they are shifted from one literary medium (text) to another (film). This happens mainly because the power of visual media is entirely different from that of print media. For example, a writer may need a thousand words to explain a particular scene, a parallel of which can be easily shown in only one scene of a film. Similarly, a character has to change according to the changed time and space also; for instance, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is totally different from Vishal’s Maqbool in terms of appearance. In place of shields and armour, Maqbool uses guns; he wears no crown and speaks the typical language of a local gangster.
However, Bhardwaj’s portrayal of Maqbool’s character depicts a similar journey to that of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth “is introduced to us as a general of extraordinary prowess,” – he was thought to be “honest,” “honourable” and “too much of the milk of human kindness.” King Duncan and other generals of his army are full of praise for him when he returns from the battle. But, by the end of the play, he becomes a cruel and inhuman tyrant. Now, he is no longer “infirm of purpose: he becomes domineering and even brutal, or he becomes a cool pitiless hypocrite”. He now “welcomes disorder and confusion … he is plunging deeper and deeper into unreality … forgets that he is trafficking with things of nightmare fantasy. His ambition led him toward a life of destruction. The constant pressure from his wife and the prophecies made by the witches compel him to murder the noble king Duncan. Lady Macbeth “rouses him with a taunt no man can bear, and least of all a soldier – the word “coward” … her passionate courage sweeps him off his feet.
The character of Maqbool also follows a similar pattern. When the film opens, he is seen as the most loyal and trusted member of Abba Ji's gang. Abba Ji loves him as his own son and he also treats him like his own father. But soon all love and respect vanish and he shoots Abba Ji. He gets swept away by the prophecies of Pandit and Purohit and by Nimmi’s evil warnings. Like Lady Macbeth, Nimmi also rouses Maqbool with a taunt that no man could bear. She calls him “a wimp”.
Bhardwaj has taken certain liberties to replace or add some characters according to his requirements. Therefore, in place of Malcolm and Donalbain, Abba Ji has only one child – a daughter called Sameera, the three witches are replaced by the two policemen Pandit and Purohit, the character of Usman plays the part of Duncan’s drugged chamberlains and other than these, there are many rustic characters such as Bhosle, Tawde, Chinna, Palekar, Mohini and others who help in furthering the actions of the play.
One very important character that Bhardwaj introduces in the film is that of Nimmi’s child. Unlike the play where there is no such mention of Lady Macbeth having any children, Nimmi gives birth to a child before dying. However, who is the father of her child is not made clear, the child could be Abba Ji's or Maqbool’s; this remains an unsolved mystery in the film. When Nimmi dies and Maqbool gets killed by Boti (Macduff’s counterpart) Guddu and Sameera take care of Nimmi’s child. Bhardwaj thus ended his story on a humane note, and the order that was disturbed by the corrupt actions of Maqbool and Nimmi gets restored by Guddu and Sameera’s kind act of humanity.
The dramatic devices:
Soliloquies and asides:
In the play, Act 1, SC. 7 opens with the first soliloquy of Macbeth. Through this long soliloquy of Macbeth, the audience gets to know of his conflicting views. He is yet not sure of killing Duncan but his “vaulting ambition” compels him toward the crime. The next soliloquy of Macbeth occurs in Act 2, SC. 1. The dagger scene is one of the important scenes of the play. The soliloquy of Macbeth clearly reflects his state of mind and the dagger becomes the symbol of his conscience.
Music:
In Macbeth, there is no pleasant music at all; it is only the unpleasant sound of rain, storms, thunder and lightning that balances the un-musical situation somehow. But in the movie, Maqbool has very rich music. Keeping with the conventions of a typical Bollywood film, Bhardwaj has crafted beautiful music for the film and there are many songs and dance sequences.
Other than these lyrical songs, the film also has instrumental theme music, which is played throughout in the background to foreshadow something foul that might happen.
Setting:
The setting has been changed from the royal court of Scotland to the Mumbai underworld. In the words of Stephen Alter, “Foggy moors and dank castles give way to mildewed Havelis and the stark cityscapes of Mumbai. Horses are replaced by Mercedes – Benzes and swords with pistols. But the real magic of the film lies in the way Vishal is able to reconstruct a Scottish melodrama within the dangerous and twisted domain of Mumbai’s criminal underworld. Not only does he relocate the story in a different time and place but, like a familiar theme in music that gets remixed, Vishal sets it in another key”.
This has been done deliberately by Bhardwaj to cater to the needs of Bollywood. In place of kings and noble generals the film depicts men who belong to the underworld and most of them are from the Muslim community. But despite making the changes in setting, language and location, the film remains honest in its theme of Shakespearean tragedy.
Ending:
In both Macbeth and Maqbool, the order that is disturbed in the beginning gets restored in the end. In the play, Macduff kills Macbeth and carries his head onstage and Malcolm is placed on the throne. Order is restored because the legitimate heir of Duncan is crowned the king. In the film, however, the order gets restored when Guddu and Sameera lovingly accept the child of Nimmi. Their kind act of humanity compensates for all the bloodshed and enmity.
Comparison of Macbeth and Maqbool:
Shakespeare’s Macbeth initially tries to come to terms with the terrible fact he discovers the potential for evil within himself. Herein resides Shakespeare’s difficulty. Hamlet, however deranged, constantly attempts to do the right thing. Othello and Brutus, despite their fatal errors, cannot be labelled as evil. Shakespeare’s real challenge lay in transmuting a man, like Richard III who consciously performs evil deeds, into an eponymous tragic hero. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s study of duality, of man, swinging between the good and evil within. Shakespeare could surprisingly evoke sympathy for a man who consciously embraces evil, knows the consequences, and yet continues down the aberrant path without paying much heed to the outcome.
Bhardwaj’s Maqbool, on the other hand, is a natural extension of the murky underbelly of the Mumbai mafia world. He is born into an “evil” space. So evil is not an option for him, it is a compulsory part of his existence. It is in this space of all-pervading evil that he tries to retain some vestige of loyalty towards the lord of the mafia don. Yet he remains acutely conscious of his secondary position. Thus the sudden spark of hope brought on by Nimmi precipitates his sudden rampage. Macbeth is a once-loyal hero who chooses to yield to his latent desires, though not without self-examination. Maqbool seems to be more a character acted upon, acted upon not by Nimmi, but by a more sinister power structure at work. Although it may seem that it is Nimmi’s taunts of Maqbool’s masculinity and her unabashed sexuality which really disrupts the mock-family structure of Abbaji. However, a closer examination shows that the comical and corrupt police inspectors (“Purohit” and “Pandit”), a version of Macbeth’s three hags, who prophesy Maqbool’s ascension to power and also bring about Maqbool’s death are the real choreographers who chart the rise and fall of these characters, under the pretext of retaining a balance of power.
Some Examples of Movie Adaptations 'Macbeth':
Anthony Davies describes Macbeth as a complex study in character, as one who is “human in his reflections and inhumane in his actions”. Vishal Bhardwaj succeeds in projecting this contradiction in Maqbool, while directors like Orson Welles and Roman Polanski fail. In Welles’ Macbeth (1948), Macbeth is a “dislikable protagonist” from the first scene to the last, while Polanski’s Macbeth (1971) fails to stage a human drama as Macbeth does not gain any profundity of character with the progression of his career. He simply seems to be a counterpart of the static villain Richard IIIFootnote1. On the other hand, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth is a tragic hero from the very first scene. Kurzel significantly departs from Shakespeare as he opens his film with the burial of Baby Macbeth. The very opening exonerates the bereaved parents from the sins they are about to commit in the audience’s eyes. Macbeth in Kurzel fails to become evil. The career of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Kurzel becomes an unending reminder of a loss that can never be compensated; Kurzel’s Macbeth (2015) becomes a saga of how power remains a poor substitute for grief. Shakespeare’s Macbeth depicts a psychological journey where the protagonist is ultimately transformed into a “sadder but wiser” character at the end of the play, one who gradually realizes his limited place in the universe. Maqbool, on the other hand, begins his journey with full realization of his limited and thoroughly marginal place in society. Maqbool, like Macbeth, is a man who constantly oscillates between the twin forces of ambition and guilt. Yet apart from the urge to usurp authority, Maqbool is further goaded by his love for Nimmi and by his craving for legitimacy. Unlike Shakespeare, the issue of legitimacy runs deeper in Maqbool. The craving for a “proper” social recognition is an added layer in which we do not find in other major adaptations of the play. While Roman Polanski or Justin Kurzel remain faithful to the time and setting of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, thereby making it unnecessary for the protagonists to contemplate their legitimate status in society, even Washizu (based on the character of Macbeth) in Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957) is an integral part of the Japanese warrior class, one who is more a representative of the spirit of his age than an outsider. Like Maqbool, The Throne of Blood is not a direct cinematic rendition of Shakespeare’s eleventh-century Scottish world. Deeply steeped in the tradition of Noh theatre, Kurosawa’s portrays Washizu as a type, a warrior of medieval Japan, one who very much belongs to the mainstream and hence not in need of pondering over issues of legitimacy
Conclusion:
In order to reconstruct or adapt, a film director heavily relies on the source text, keenly observes each word, scene, character etc. However, he is bound to deviate from the original text to cater to the needs of cinema. Also, to fit into the present time certain changes and modifications are necessary. If a filmmaker sticks to such demands the adaptation loses its true essence and instead becomes an appropriation. Such is the case with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool. Therefore, after the analysis of the two genres (text and film), it can be concluded that the film is an appropriation of the text, rather than being a strict adaptation of the source text, though there are many instances in the film where a strong parallel can be drawn with the text the differences are more coherent. However, it is important to mention that despite making the changes in setting, location, language and plot, the film remains loyal to Shakespeare in its essence. The idea of crime, the concept of fear and evil, the portrayal of the disturbed natural order are the same as in the original source text maintaining the Shakespearean spirit.
2. Macbeth- the tragedy of Ambition: How do you view ambition in today time?
Macbeth a Tragedy of Ambition:
In Macbeth, ambition is presented as a dangerous quality. It is the driving force of the play. It is an ambition that causes the downfall of Macbeth and triggers a series of deaths in the play. Macbeth is inspired by the prophecies of the Witches to be ambitious and his ambition is driven by Lady Macbeth.
When the Witches meet Macbeth and Banquo, they greet Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor and predict that he will be the king of Scotland. Of Banquo, the Witches predict that he will be the begetter of a line of kings. When Rosse and Angus inform Macbeth about the conferment by King Duncan of the title of the Thane of Cawdor on him, Macbeth hopefully begins to look forward to the fulfilment of the final prediction, that is, of his becoming king. Thus, the prophecy of the Witches had made a deep impression on Macbeth’s mind. When Duncan nominates Malcolm to be the heir to the throne, Macbeth thinks it to be an obstacle in the way of his becoming king. So, the thought of murdering Duncan has taken a firm root in his mind. It is evident that the Witches have stimulated in Macbeth an ambition that would have remained dormant if the Witches would make no prophecy.
But the Witches are not fully responsible for Duncan’s murder. It is Lady Macbeth who gives the fuel to the fire of Macbeth’s ambition to kill Duncan. When Duncan arrived at Inverness, Macbeth controlled his ambition for the time being and did not kill Duncan. But his wife, Lady Macbeth brings him back to his original decision. Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth that the murder would go undiscovered, and this was what gave Macbeth the courage and determination to proceed with his plans. Her forceful arguments revive his ambition and cannot but agree to his wife’s plan. So, he says:
I am settled and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Thus, Macbeth kills Duncan being influenced by his wife. Having taken the road of self damnation, he is now unable to stop. Macbeth is now always ready to remove every obstacle from his way to remain in his state of power. Realizing the danger from Banquo and thinking of the prophecy that the throne will eventually pass to the descendants of Banquo, Macbeth hatches a conspiracy against that man and has him murdered. It is Macbeth’s second crime. He commits another crime warned by the first apparition. The first apparition warned Macbeth to beware of Macduff and Macbeth has already been feeling apprehensive of Macduff’s attitude towards him. As a result, he decides to massacre Macduff’s family.
Here Macbeth degenerates into a butcher. His tragedy lies in this degeneration. At last, comes the time of his doom. When he faces Macduff on the battlefield, he tells him that nobody born of a woman can kill him. At the time Macduff reveals that he was removed from his mother’s womb prematurely by means of a caesarean operation and that he is not therefore born of a woman in the normal sense. On hearing, this Macbeth gives up all hopes and within moments he is slain by Macduff.
Thus, ambition is the root cause of Macbeth’s downfall, as it planted the seeds of murder, which grew into an uncontrollable monster that eventually destroyed anyone who got in its way.
How do you view ambition in today time?
“Macbeth is relevant for young people in our 2020-2021 society, mainly because it examines the idea of corruption and how easily it is to be led astray by ambition. This is very relevant for today’s society because some leaders are corrupt, run a dictatorship and do not listen to their people. It is also relevant because of the unbalanced gender relationship; there are very few Shakespeare plays where the woman takes the lead.
There are lots of morals to be learnt from the play. Firstly, I think the main moral of the play is not to be tempted to do bad things in order to gain power. In addition, another moral of the play would be that even if you think you are in too deep there is always a way out; and you can stop. It also teaches you to trust yourself and to stand up for yourself.
I have learnt that sometimes your ambition can lead you astray and you can do bad things. I have learnt that with enough pressure you can do something you never thought you could do. Furthermore, that people can use you because of what you have.
Personally, I think women have almost equal power to men nowadays. But sometimes it is easy to slip into typical gender stereotypes; for example, nursing is mainly considered a woman’s job, whereas a doctor is considered as a role for men. As a woman, I feel I should be equal to men.
Thank you
Words count: 4,764
No comments:
Post a Comment