This brings us to what is possibly a big cultural difference. I've noted in
many of these recaps that the police are invariably shown to be brutal,
ruthless, and cold-blooded. I thought that had to just be for dramatic purposes,
but here's an interesting moment. Ashwin is time and again shown to be the
idealistic rookie cop who follows the rules and does what he is supposed to.
However when he pulls the driver out of the car, he immediately begins smacking
him in the face. The driver made no attempt to physically harm Ashwin at all -
he only offered a bribe. For Ashwin, the "good cop" as it were, to use force
first and not in retaliation or self-defense might mean that's okay for them to
do. Points to ponder, anyway.
Two
other traffic policemen come over and separate them. One shoos Ashwin away,
telling him that they'll take care of this. We overhear the driver talking to
the other cop. He says he didn't do anything wrong, he was "paying according to
his stars. 10 rupees for a single band, 20 for two, 50 for an officer with
stars." He complains that if the cops change their rates, they need to tell
people. This says something huge about how crooked the cops are in this town.
Ashwin looks back at the other two cops in disgust. As he does so, we see him
through the mystery camera's viewfinder again and he snaps a couple of shots of
him.
Time
to meet someone else! We find ourselves in the home of Khamlesh, who is getting
ready for work. As he shaves, his wife begins asking him about the mission.
She's afraid that it is too dangerous. He downplays the danger by saying
everything anyone does is dangerous from cooking on a gas stove to crossing the
street. She doesn't seem to consoled by this though, and presses the issue.
Khamlesh becomes angry and tells her to knock it off. She starts to pout and
asks why he can't reason with her politely instead of treating her like a
criminal.
She also complains that she's been wanting to visit her mother for a year,
and he always has to go on duty instead. He promises that he'll take her as soon
as he gets back, and will also get her an embroidered
sari while he
is away. At this point, his son comes in and tells him he's broken his cricket
bat. Khamlesh gives his son a hug and tells him he'll get him a new one. Things
look pretty good here, with everyone happily smiling and feeling good.
Khamlesh goes over to the kitchen to splash some water on his face. As he is
drying off, we see him through the mystery camera and another couple of shots
are taken.
We
cut to an auto-rickshaw on the street. A slightly heavyset police officer flags
it down and gets in. There are already two women in the backseat, but the driver
is a friend of the cop. This is Inspector Mhatre, a generally easygoing guy. One
of the women in the back gripes at him for just highjacking their cab, but he
lies to them by saying things are getting rough in town, and the police are
riding along on cab rides for extra protection.
His friend asks him if he's coming to a picnic the next day, but he tells him
he can't go due to his trip to Chandangarh. They reach Mhatre's stop, and he hops
out. As the auto-rickshaw pulls away, he tells the grumpy lady in the back that
there is additional security up ahead. As he walks away from the street, our
phantom photographer gets his picture too.
Finally!
The one we've all been waiting for! The camera pans over some knick-knack
shelves holding lots of pictures of people we don't know. The shot comes to rest
on a large bed, where a shapely woman stretches and sits up. She hears a noise
coming from outside, and looks out the window. She sees her husband getting out
of his car and panics. Why? Because she's in bed with Inspector Shekhar! She
frantically tells him to get up and get dressed. He isn't quite as energetic as
she is though, and takes his sweet time getting out of bed.
