“Dasvi” revolves around a corrupt Chief Minister who embodies every stereotype one can associate with an Indian politician. Ganga Ram Chaudhry is popular for his notorious ways; he was dragged into court after he was found involved in an education scam. Ganga believes education is an unnecessary expense and considers himself an example of someone being uneducated yet popular and powerful. Though the film wanted to perhaps focus on the importance of education in a developing country such as India through a comedy-drama, it got diverted and tried to include way too many elements. The characters are not well thought out, and there is a visible lack of depth and purpose.
‘Dasvi’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?
Ganga Ram Chaudhary is a degenerate Chief Minister of Harit Pradesh (an imaginary state) who chooses to build a shopping mall instead of a school. He believes power can be achieved even without knowledge, and to prove his point, he makes fun of his personal assistant (an IAS officer) since he was educated yet had to work for an 8th-grade pass politician. He was married to his timid wife, Bimla Devi, who kept herself busy feeding cattle and taking care of her household. After he was accused of a teacher recruitment scam, criminal conspiracy, misuse of power, bribery, corruption, and cheating, he was sentenced to prison during the time the investigation into the teacher recruitment scam would be conducted. In a desperate attempt to retain power, Ganga appoints his wife as the acting Chief Minister. Bimla Devi was taken by surprise. She was not prepared for the position. With trembling confidence, she took to the chair and functioned according to the instructions of her husband. Ganga lived lavishly in prison. The jailer was indebted to him for a prior favor and did all that he could do to make his stay comfortable. He operated from within the prison and had everything under control till Bimla changed her stance.
Bimla started to enjoy the power that came with her position. She was not interested in the welfare of the people but was rather more invested in creating an image of herself. With statues and pictures of herself pasted all over the city, she wanted to retain her position no matter what. Ganga Ram’s life got all the more difficult when a new superintendent, Jyoti Deswal, was assigned to the prison. His luxurious days in captivity were now replaced by hard work and bland food. Jyoti Deswal made fun of Ganga for being illiterate after noticing his signature was made of lines and dots. She remembered that it was Ganga who had signed her transfer notice after she had taken action against his party workers. He asked his wife to transfer her once again, but she denied it as their reputation would be at stake. He sensed that his wife was gradually getting away from his grasp. To escape his job as a carpenter in prison, he decided to take his 10th examination. And to everyone’s surprise, Ganga started to enjoy reading. He constantly reminded himself of the famous quote that the people who do not learn anything from history are doomed to repeat it. Unlike his predecessors, he now aimed to learn history and make a change.
He took upon himself the challenge to clear the exam. If he failed to do so, he would reject the Chief Minister’s position. Ganga’s determination to learn helped him understand the necessity of it in everyday life, something he had dismissed previously. While Ganga embarked on a new journey, his wife was not prepared to let go of her position, even after Ganga’s release. He, therefore, had two challenges to overcome: one, to clear his board examination, and two, to get back to his position as the Chief Minister. With a clear focus and the will to work for the people, Ganga received favorable results.
Major Spoilers Ahead
See More: ‘Dasvi’ Review: Too Optimistic For India’s Dark Political Climate?
What Changed Ganga Ram Chaudhury’s Mind About Education?
It was after being insulted by Jyoti that he felt the need to educate himself. Without his privilege, he could only work as a carpenter. He had always wanted to clear his 10th board examination, but life had other plans for him. What truly motivated Ganga was the nation’s history, which he learned from the books. He imagined himself as part of every historical moment and felt the need to better himself. After all, the freedom fighters fought for the betterment of the nation, and he had failed to comprehend the weight of his position earlier.
He received help from other inmates as well. Ganti taught him mathematics and directed his interest in probability, while another taught him science. This exercise brought him close to the inmates, and he had a change of heart toward Prem, a young man who was falsely charged after he fell in love with a girl from another caste. Even though he was getting out of prison, he feared for his life as the members of the upper caste would hunt for him.
Ganga decided to help them get married. The prison witnessed inter-caste marriage, all thanks to Ganga, who even helped them flee to Mumbai for safety. Ganga’s worldview was changing, and the marriage was its result. After noticing how Ganga was becoming a better person, Jyoti started helping him with Hindi, the subject that he feared the most.
“Dasvi” becomes Ganga’s journey from a cunning politician to a politician who valued people and wanted to create a better nation. Ganga sets an example of how education can change one’s life.
‘Dasvi’ Ending Explained: Did Ganga And Bimla Separate?
Bimla tried every possible trick to make sure that Ganga failed his examination. She plotted against him by setting Hindi as the first paper. She aimed to break his confidence, but Ganga had worked extremely hard to be able to take the challenge. Even though his path to education was not easy, he tried his best. While Ganga was granted bail before his exams, Jyoti hid the letter from him to help him focus on his goal.
Ganga left prison hoping to be greeted by his ministers and party workers, but he found only his brother waiting for him outside. Bimla had called for an urgent meeting with the ministers to secure her position as the Chief Minister. When Ganga realized that she was not ready to leave the position, he demanded early voting, but his party members did not agree. Ganga took this as another challenge, and he was prepared to do all that was required to win back what was wrongfully taken away from him.
Ganga joined hands with the opposition leader, Ravish Srivastava, and spread the word about the importance of education. As expected, the announcement of the election result and the 10th board’s result were on the same day. While Jyoti did not expect Ganga to check his score, to her surprise, he entered the prison to take a look at the result sheet. Ganga had passed the test and was overjoyed by his success. He had conquered his first challenge. Meanwhile, initially, the election results indicated a clear win for Bimla, but with time it changed, and Ganga won the elections as well. Despite the fact that he fought against his wife for political power, he had sworn marriage vows to be by her side no matter what.
The twist in the tale was that when Ganga announced that he would not be the Chief Minister of the State, he believed a young candidate with an honest motive must take that position, and he appointed Ravish Srivastava as the Chief Minister. He undertook the role of the Education Minister; he was set to turn his words into reality this time.
Abhishek Bachchan, as Ganga Ram Chaudhury, tried his best to make the character likable but was not aided by the screenplay. “Dasvi” is a light-hearted watch with very little to offer. With a few too many jokes falling flat and stereotypical characters, Dasvi limits itself with flimsy writing and struggles to keep you engaged.
