Bajrangi Bhaijaan is an action movie which narrates a story of an Indian man, Pawan figuring all the way out to unite a lost Pakistani girl named Shahida (Munni) with her lost parent. This movie does not involve only interpersonal conflicts between Pawan and Munni but also resolves family issues, religious difference and conflict among neighbouring countries.
From this movie, we can learn various types of personalities and stages of human development through many characters. In this article, we are going to discuss the development of Munni as a preschool child physically, mentally and socially and how the factor of religion and culture affects her. We are also going to explain Bajrangi’s actions based on Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development.
Observation on Munni’s development
Munni is a girl aged six years old which is a preschool. She is muted and lives with her family in District Sultanpur, a green mountain range with small villages, ravines and streams. The people there actively shepherd sheep and harvest plants. Indirectly, Munni grows as an animal lover.
Munni grows in a very good environment and family of Muslim Pakistani where the family members used to wear scarf and fully covered clothes. She even raised her hand when she saw her mother praying. The community in the place she lives in has a very close relationship. It is illustrated in the early part of the movie the villagers gather to watch a televised cricket match between India and Pakistan. Munni by the way is a friendly and an easy-going child who can easily socialize with strangers like Pawan. One time when she was at the immigration office, she smiled and waved at the guard.
Munni was separated from her mother on their journey back home from Delhi after meeting a saint to restore her speech. She jumped off the train to save a lamb just when the train drove off before she can re-board it. She was running after the train and trying to make herself noticed by waving hands but the train was just too fast to catch. Brilliantly, Munni decided to board a freight train as if the train would bring her to the same direction her mother headed. Unfortunately, it went opposite and winded Munni to Kurukshetra, Haryana where she met Pawan.
In their journey of searching Munni’s lost parent, Munni has portrayed so many responses that indicate her level of cognition and socio-emotion. For example, Munni once tried to steal the bangles but obediently cancelled her intention when Pawan told her not to. When Pawan decided to hand her to a travel agent, Munni acted clingy and refused to be left. In every situation when Pawan was naively speaking the truth, Munni would do a facepalm to show disapproval. Other than that, Munni also cunningly tricked the inspector by putting a banana in his car exhaust.
Munni was also able to recognize a picture at a calendar which similar to her home. However, Munni was illiterate that it turned to be a picture of a place in New Zealand. At other time, Munni also recognized her mother in the background of a footage Chand Nawab had posted to go viral on YouTube. With the assistance from the bus driver, Munni finally managed to tell Pawan and Chand Nawab her hometown’s name after several guesses. At the end of the story, Munni was so excited to reunite with her mother but still did not forget of Pawan who had helped her through so many obstacles. On Pawan’s way of crossing the border, Munni, with all strength, had shouted out “Pawan” out loud and restore her speech in miracle.
Analysis of Munni’s development
|
Observation |
Types of development |
Description |
|
Munni loves animals |
Socio-emotional development |
Start modelling appropriate behaviour and have good understanding
of how to interact with other people outside the home |
|
Munni raised her hand when her mother was praying |
Socio-emotional development
|
|
|
Munni smiled and waved at the guard |
Socio-emotional development |
|
|
Munni ran after the train while waving her hand |
Motor development, Cognitive development |
Develop in gross motor skills |
|
Munni boarded the freight train to catch up her first train |
Cognitive development |
Children tend to demonstrate conservation which refers to an
awareness that altering an object’s appearance does not change its property |
|
Munni tried to steal bangle but cancelled her intention after
being forbidden |
Socio-emotional development |
During early childhood, a child begins to develop moral
understanding regarding standards of right and wrong |
|
Munni was clingy when Pawan was about to leave her with stranger |
Socio-emotional development |
Children tend to have rapid mood swings and heavily influenced by
parent’s response |
|
Munni did facepalm whenever she disagreed with Pawan’s honesty |
Cognitive development, Socio-emotional development |
Better understanding of emotions helps children to develop a more
advanced understanding of others |
|
Munni tricked the inspector with a banana in his car exhaust |
Cognitive development |
Learning arise from social interaction with knowledgeable
person/adults |
|
Munni could recognized pictures and people |
Cognitive development |
Able to picture, remember, understand and replicate objects in
their minds and can create mental image of objects and store them for later
use |
|
Munni remembered names of places |
Cognitive development |
Young children can remember a great deal of information if given
appropriate cues and prompts |
