It begins like a fairy tale. It starts with a ritual. A bard appears on the screen and sings.Glory be the new gods who have descended to the Earth.The chairman of the gods, concerned over the problem of want, arranges for a hundred jobs. But thousands queue for them. Too many people, too many faces, too many problems. The crowd gets disillusioned and popular discontent is mobilized as word spreads that this is just another hoax. The Chorus as well as performing the traditional role of the storyteller provides the political message, juxtaposing stylization and caricature with neo-realist and documentary sequences and direct address to the camera.—Swarup Basak