Last Man in Tower

Based on Aravind Adiga’s novel of the same name, Ben Rekhi’s Last Man In Tower is defined by its curious relationship with storytelling. It starts out like a vintage Bombay movie with ‘characters’ and designs of a scrappy fairytale about the old guard holding down the brick fort in the face of rampant gentrification. There’s a sense of community and colour. It’s 2010, the setting is a crumbling colony called Vishram (“Rest”) in Mumbai’s suburb of Vakola, and the residents are diverse: the touchy Punjabi lady with a neurodivergent son, the generous old Catholic couple, the fiery single mom accused of ‘communism,’ the mild-mannered building secretary, the lone Muslim family, the street-smart hustler, and the single working girl who becomes the subject of gossip for having a sex life. Retired teacher Yogesh Mishra (Manoj Bajpayee) is the fair and level-headed patriarch of this unofficial family; he tutors the kids and schools the adults.

Based on Aravind Adiga’s bestselling novel and adapted for the screen by Sooni Taraporevala, Ben Rekhi’s poignant drama centres on Masterji (Manoj Bajpayee), the lone resident of an ageing Mumbai housing society who resists redevelopment, determined to preserve the home and community he holds dear. His refusal to bow to the demands of his fellow residents and the builder (Boman Irani) soon makes him a thorn in their side. Ironically, his fight to save their community leaves him increasingly lonely and isolated. Viewed as someone depriving them of a better life, the people he once considered friends ostracise him, dismissing his principles as outdated. In a world where everyone is racing to own bigger homes and lead more luxurious lives, our threshold for tolerance, empathy and togetherness has drastically diminished. We crave privacy and space while secretly watching those viral AI videos of families travelling together in cozy vans. We have time to argue with strangers on social media, but barely bother to know our next-door neighbours. The safety net and community culture of Mumbai’s chawls and old buildings are fast disappearing, and Masterji finds himself fighting a losing battle to preserve a way of life that is slowly becoming extinct.

इस अनंत ब्रह्मांड में तिनके जितनी बड़ी मुंबई। उसमें तिनके से भी छोटी विश्राम सोसायटी। उस सोसायटी का एक ज़र्रा योगेश मिश्रा। लेकिन इस एक ज़र्रे की ज़िद के चलते इस सोसायटी की दुनिया थम-सी गई है। दरअसल एक बिल्डर इस सोसायटी के टॉवर गिरा कर वहां नई बिल्डिंग बनाना चाहता है। वह सबको मार्केट रेट से ज़्यादा पैसे दे रहा है। एक-एक करके सब लोग फ्लैट बेचने को राज़ी हो जाते हैं, सिवाय रिटायर्ड टीचर योगेश मिश्रा के। अब कैसे बनेगी यहां नई बिल्डिंग? मास्टरजी राज़ी होंगे या नहीं? कौन मनाएगा उन्हें और कैसे? क्या वह मान जाएंगे…? भारतीय मूल के ऑस्ट्रेलियाई लेखक-पत्रकार अरविंद अडिगा के चर्चित उपन्यास ‘द व्हाइट टाइगर’ पर इसी नाम से प्रियंका चोपड़ा और राजकुमार राव वाली फिल्म 2021 में आ चुकी है। अब आई यह फिल्म ‘लास्ट मैन इन टॉवर’ (Last Man in Tower) अरविंद के इसी नाम के उपन्यास पर आधारित है।