Lathe Joshi

9th January 2023

Lathe Joshi – An Allegory for Evolution

I have wanted to watch the Marathi movie, ‘Lathe Joshi’ ever since Aniket Joshi recommended it many years ago. However, this film had a limited release, and it was soon pulled out of theatres because of poor viewership. I finally got the chance to watch ‘Lathe Joshi’ this Saturday on Zee5. 

‘Lathe Joshi’ has extremely competent, though not so well known, faces playing pivotal roles. Chittaranjan Giri as the protagonist is amazing. One can feel his angst and helplessness in every frame that he inhabits. Ashwini Giri, who plays his wife (Chittaranjan and Ashwini are husband and wife in real life too), is shown to be ebullient and enterprising. She lends a hand to the family’s coffers by running a cooking business. This lady is open to experimentation and is willing to go the extra mile to keep her clients satisfied. She is fastidious about her work and her work ethic keeps the clients happy and her career graph rises throughout the movie. She knows the importance of presentation and making a good impression. The couple has a son who tinkers about and is a handyman. His computer servicing business experiences modest successes and unexpected failures. Somehow, he remains afloat. Joshi has his visually impaired mother living in the same tiny house. She appears ‘blind’ to reality and is content ‘hearing’ TV shows. The mother is a mere cantankerous observer playing no active role in running the household.

Joshi belongs to a bygone era. Having operated a lathe machine in a small workshop for thirty-five years makes Joshi an extension of the machine itself. He is referred to as ‘Lathe Joshi’ in this film. Despite being a skilled craftsman and having a keen eye for detail, he is unable to adapt and upskill. With the passage of time his expertise becomes redundant as there are now machines which give a more precise and voluminous output.

Shinde is the lone survivor who gets retained by the company as he has acquired new skills. The rest of the labour force is shown the door. 

With the relentless advances in technology certain types of work functions become dispensable. Skills become irrelevant. Joshi tries his best to obtain gainful employment but fails. Attempts to raise capital to buy ‘his’ old machine of thirty-five years fail. Coming to terms with the new reality seems difficult and consequently Joshi becomes morose, listless, and frustrated at the way his life shapes up. 

In the end Joshi is shown donning the black glasses of his recently departed mother. He now seems to have accepted his fate. This world no longer has any place or function for him. This is such a poignant and heart breaking scene! It conveys so much without a single spoken word. 

Joshi fails to adapt and upskill hence becomes irrelevant and unemployable. His wife, on the other hand, thrives. His son somehow hangs on.

Coincidentally, on Sunday I read an article in Loksatta about Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The theory, in all its magnificence may not be intelligible to the common man but what we can surely comprehend is the principle of “Survival of the fittest”.

The world has changed unbelievably since the industrial revolution. The world of today would be indistinguishable from what prevailed for hundreds of years before 1830. In these past 193 years man’s way of living and thinking has changed by leaps and bounds. 

Like everything else human beings and society at large keep evolving. Man has made tremendous advances in all spheres of life. Many sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, education, defence, and healthcare have had a complete facelift. In no era has man produced and consumed so much. No previous epoch has seen so much consumption and waste.

Adapt or perish is the new mantra. One has to constantly upskill or employ people who have the necessary talents.

The future belongs to AI, blockchain and robotics. Soft skills, a relatively new concept is gaining a lot of importance. Workplace environment is changing. New sectors are getting created and older ones are getting demolished. 

How many of us will cope with this relentless, inexorable onslaught? How many will perish? 

How many of us will become ‘Lathe Joshi’? 

I could relate with this story at a personal level as my business is getting singed by ever changing client demands and expectations. I will have to learn from Mrs. Joshi and ensure a good experience for my clients. A satisfied client ensures business continuity. Very few service-oriented businesses now have an edge over their competitors. Most businesses have been commoditised. I can thrive only if I survive. 

Else, I will turn into Lathe Joshi.

– Sandeep Oke