Sanjay Patel’s Union Leader revisits a subject that has all but disappeared from Hindi films – the organisation of industrial labour. The union leader showed up with frequency on the screen in the 1970s and ‘80s, and was either noble and therefore easily defeated (and even killed in some cases) or crooked and in cahoots with the management.
As popular cinema moved into a supposedly post-industrial world, one in which factories were good only to stage fights or song sequences, workers and their leaders became relics of a distant pre-liberalisation past. The real struggles of the Indian working class against unjust layoffs, poor working conditions and management-induced fragmentation continue, but do not apparently make for engaging or cool cinema any more.
Patel tries to fill the gap with Union Leader through the issue of industrial safety. A chemical manufacturing plant in Gujarat – described as one of the largest in its sector – is proving toxic for its employees. Many of them have lung ailments and cancer, and the poor working conditions result in regular injuries and even deaths. The union leader is a management stooge, so the workers, led by the fiery Digant (Vivek Ghamande) decide to push their own candidate.
That man is supervisor Jay (Rahul Bhat), who overcomes his initial reluctance to accept the challenge of demanding medical insurance and better salaries for his comrades. Back home, Jay is kept in check by his pragmatic wife Geeta (Tillotama Shome) and his son Harsh (Tirth Sharma), who is picking up his first lessons in Gandhian thought by volunteering at the local Gandhi ashram.
Harsh inspires Jay in many ways, including by lecturing him on challenging the status quo. That other historic figure who might have inspired Jay in the ’80s, Karl Marx, is missing from a movie that never lacks in sincerity or empathy but suffers from a simplistic portrayal of labour issues.
The leader who causes the chains to fall off workers is ultimately too diffident and weepy to be an inspirational figure, and the process through which victory is won won’t cut ice with labour activists. As Jay grows into his role, the movie recedes further into fantasy territory, with a judge delivering a verdict that seems to have been written by a scriptwriter. A feelgood labour drama is an oxymoron, and justly so.
Where Union Leader scores is in its sympathetic portrayal of the workers. Patel assembles a convincing cast of supporting actors, who actually look like blue-collared representatives rather than Bollywood extras. Their plight in the face of apathy is convincing, and the movie’s most stirring moments revolve not around Jay’s hand-wringing, but around their belief in collective bargaining
Rahul Bhat is passable as the hero leading the march, but the rest of the cast works better, especially Tillotama Shome as the voice of caution and Tirth Sharma as the teenage son whose optimism and idealism provide succour to his beleaguered father. Tirth Sharma was superb in Advait Chandan’s Secret Superstar in 2017, and he has many lovely moments in Union Leader to confirm his talent.
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