From Moha to Moksha: Navigating the Ghats of Grief through Vedic Detachment in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (2015) by Pradipta Mukherjee

Pradipta Mukherjee

Associate Professor in English

Vidyasagar College for Women

The cinematic landscape of Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (2015) serves as a profound modern site for the resurfacing of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), specifically through its exploration of the metaphysical journey from Moha (delusion) to Moksha (liberation). Set against the sacred backdrop of Kashi (Varanasi), the film transcends the conventions of social realism to engage with the Vedic ontology of self, attachment, death and time. In the context of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), Masaan is not just a film about grieving individuals; it is a cinematic treatise on the Vedic process of Vairagya (detachment) as the only viable path to overcome social stigma, personal loss and move towards psychological and spiritual redemption.

By positioning its protagonists within the liminal space of the Mahashmashana (the great cremation ground), the narrative utilises the physical reality of the burning ghats as a redemptive space for the soul, where suffering is not merely a psychological trauma but a transformative state of Tapas (purifying heat). In IKS, the Ghat is a liminal space—a threshold between the water (consciousness) and the land (materiality).

​The character of Deepak (Vicky Kaushal), a member of the Dom community, embodies the inherent tension between the material labour of handling the Pancha Mahabhuta (five elements) and the spiritual weight of personal loss. His trajectory illustrates the IKS principle of Anitya (impermanence); his agony is a direct result of treating a transitory union as a permanent reality.

A profound modern cinematic exploration of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), Masaan foregrounds the sacred ghats of Kashi (Varanasi)—the intellectual and spiritual epicentre of India. The film navigates the tension between Shmashana (the cremation grounds/death) and Samsara (the worldly cycle of life), utilising IKS frameworks to resolve deep-seated human trauma. The film also uses ​ the Kashi Mahashmashana (the great cremation ground) to explore the metaphysical transition from bondage to liberation. The Ghats of Kashi emerge as the liminal space for negotiating personal loss. The characters live on the edge of the Ganga, a river that in IKS represents the flow of consciousness (Chaitanya). Deepak’s life on the Dom ghats represents the "physicality" of death, while Devi Pathak’s struggle represents the "social" death of family reputation.

​ In Kashi, it is believed that Lord Shiva whispers the Taraka Mantra (the mantra of crossing over) into the ears of the dying. The film’s narrative arc follows this "crossing over"—not from life to death, but from grief to acceptance (Vairagya). Unlike Western narratives that see tragedy as a linear end, Masaan views it through the IKS lens of Kala (Cyclical Time). The recurring motif of the ring (lost in the river) worn by Shaalu Gupta (Shweta Tripathi), and later found by Deepak after her death, mirrors the Karmic cycle.

The film’s resolution hinges on the practice of Vairagya (philosophical detachment), most poignantly visualised in the immersion of a ring into the Ganga by Deepak. This act of Tyaga (renunciation) signifies a surrender to Kala (cyclical time), allowing the protagonist to transition from the "heaviness" of grief to a state of Samatva (equanimity). Deepak’s grief is a "Vasana" (a deep-seated desire) that he must release into the Ganga. When he finally lets go of the physical memory of his beloved and immerses the ring in the Ganga, he achieves a form of Jivanmukti (liberation while alive), though he dives into the sacred water searching frantically for the lost ring. But as he loses the ring permanently, he attains jivanmukti.

​The repetitive, ritualistic nature of burning pyres which keep recurring throughout the film, is a modern cinematic representation of sacrifice. Death is shown not as a horror, but as a systematic return of the five elements (Pancha Mahabhuta) back to the source. The film juxtaposes the Sanatana (eternal) values of Kashi with the rigid, corrupted social codes of the modern police state.

​Pathak (Devi’s father) faces a classic Dharma Sankat. As an elderly scholar of ancient texts (represented by his work with Sanskrit puzzles), he is caught between his love for his daughter and the "social shame" imposed by a decaying moral order. The father-daughter engagement and disengagement is a metaphor for intellectual debate/inquiry. They try to "decode" the suffering of their lives using the tools of logic and language, only to realise that they are unable to communicate.

The aesthetic journey of Masaan is a transition through the Navarasa, specifically focusing on the movement from Karuna (pathos) to Shanti (tranquillity). Deepak and Shaalu’s romance is a classic depiction of "love in separation." Their use of Nida Fazli’s poetry acts as a modern Kavya (poetry) that elevates their mundane surroundings into a space of aesthetic bliss. Masaan achieves an aesthetic of Samanvaya (synthesis) too in its final sequence at the Sangam. Here, the individual streams of suffering—both personal and social—merge into a shared experience of Shanti Rasa. The film suggests that redemption is found in Jivanmukti (liberation while living), achieved only when the individual recognises the self as distinct from the "cremation ground" of worldly attachments. Through this lens, the film reclaims indigenous epistemologies to provide a roadmap for navigating the existential "agony" of the modern condition. The ending—where Devi (Richa Chadha) and Deepak take a boat ride to the Sangam (confluence of rivers)—is the ultimate IKS resolution. It is the Samanvaya (synthesis) of two different streams of suffering meeting in a shared space of silence and hope.

​In IKS, Moha is the "clouding" of the intellect caused by excessive attachment to the transitory. Deepak’s love for Shaalu is pure, but his inability to process her death stems from the Vedic concept of Anitya (ignoring impermanence). He treats his relationship as an eternal entity, and when the physical form is destroyed, his "self" collapses.

​Devi is trapped in a different kind of Moha—an attachment to a social identity defined by "shame" (Lajja). Her agony is the result of believing that the social construct (the Maya of reputation) is more real than her own inherent Atman (self). Therefore, the character of Devi Pathak offers a profound study in quiet resilience against the crushing weight of small-town moral policing and the "fallen woman" trope. Her navigation of the crisis is marked by a refusal to perform the expected script of a victim, choosing instead a path of pragmatic endurance.

​The traditional "fallen woman" narrative in cinema often demands that the female protagonist internalise her shame, leading to self-destruction or perpetual mourning. Devi disrupts this through a refusal of the victim narrative. While the police and society attempt to define her by the hotel raid, Devi does not wallow in the "sin." Her tears in the initial sequences are born of trauma and the loss of Piyush, not necessarily a concession to the moral judgment of the state.

Instead of retreating into her home, she actively seeks work. Her stint at the railway coaching centre and later her job search represent a desire for economic independence, which is the ultimate antidote to the blackmail her father faces.

​Devi’s crisis is twofold: the external extortion by Inspector Mishra and the internal friction with her father, Vidyadhar. She observes the corruption around her with a cynical clarity. She understands that in her environment, "morality" is a currency. When she works to pay off the bribe, she is not just saving her father; she is buying back her autonomy.

​The geography of Banaras serves as a backdrop to her navigation. While the city views the Ganges as a site of ritual purification, Devi’s "cleansing" is purely internal and secular. Her journey to the spot where Piyush died is her final act of navigation. By returning his ring—a symbol of the event that "ruined" her—she closes the loop of her trauma.

The film ends with Devi on a boat, moving toward a new life in Allahabad (Prayagraj). She does not wait for society to forgive her; she simply outgrows the space that condemned her. In Masaan, Devi’s victory is not a loud rebellion, but the simple, radical act of continuing to exist and seek a life of her own making in a world that would rather see her disappear.

​On the other side, by placing Deepak in a family that burns bodies (the Dom community), the film forces a confrontation with the "Pancha Mahabhuta" (the five elements). Every pyre is a lesson in the dissolution of the ego. The "Ghats of Grief" is the liminal space where the characters must learn that the body is merely a vessel.

​Redemption in Masaan is achieved through the active practice of Vairagya. This is not "indifference," but a "higher seeing." The most powerful moment in the film is when Deepak throws Shaalu’s ring into the Ganga and immediately dives in to save it. After a search in the deep waters, he is unable to retrieve the ring and climbs up to the ghat and sits in a reflective mood. In IKS, this is an act of Tyaga (renunciation). By casting the gold (symbol of frozen memory/attachment) into the flowing water (symbol of time/change), he aligns himself with the cosmic flow.

Devi’s journey to the Sangam is her own form of Snana (ritual purification). She leaves behind the "dead" identity imposed by the city and moves toward a new state of being. The film concludes not with a "happy ending" in the traditional sense, but with Jivanmukti—liberation while still in the body. When the two protagonists, Deepak and Devi, meet in the ghats and undertake a journey towards the confluence of the rivers, they have crossed the Samsara of their individual tragedies. They are no longer defined by what they lost (Moha), but by the space they are attempting to clear within themselves (Moksha).

The final silence on the boat is the aesthetic manifestation of Shanti (peace). It is the state where the Karuna (pathos) of the film is finally manifested and transformed into a calm acceptance of existence. Deepak’s life was literally surrounded by the fires of the cremation ground. His agony at Shaalu's death was a form of profound suffering. In IKS, fire (Agni) is the great purifier. The film suggests that Deepak's proximity to death—the burning of the Pancha Mahabhuta -eventually "burns away" his personal ego, allowing him to survive a grief that would otherwise be soul-crushing. In Masaan, agony and pain are not merely emotional states but are portrayed as Dukkha (existential suffering) that serves as a rigorous pedagogical tool. Through the lens of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), the film moves from the raw, physical experience of pain to a refined state of Vairagya.

​IKS posits that the root of all agony is Avidya—the mistake of treating the temporary (Anitya) as permanent (Nitya). Both Devi and Deepak suffer because they are anchored to the past. Devi is haunted by a traumatic past incident of "shame," while Deepak is haunted by a single lost love. Their agony is a manifestation of Moha (delusional attachment). The film’s backdrop of Kashi—a city that has seen millions of deaths over millennia is a powerful setting to remind the characters (and the audience) that individual pain is a small ripple in the vast, cyclical ocean of Samsara.

​Crucially, in IKS, detachment is not "hating" the world or being indifferent; it is the "transcendence" of attachment. When Deepak throws the ring into the Ganga, he is performing a psychological purification. He gives up the object of his attachment to the river of time. This is the moment his agony transforms into a quiet strength. He does not forget Shaalu, but he is no longer "shackled" by her absence. Similarly, Devi immerses the gift of Piyush in the sacred waters to forget her attachment.

​The film’s aesthetic journey moves from Karuna Rasa (pathos/compassion) to Shanti Rasa (tranquillity). By the time the characters embark on a journey to reach the Sangam, they have come to terms with their pain. They have achieved a state of Samatva (equanimity), where they can acknowledge their scars without being defined by them. Ultimately, the redemption in Masaan is a "re-recognition" of the self.

​Devi and Deepak attain Jivanmukti—those who are liberated while still living. Their "redemption" is the realisation that while the body and the social self can be broken, the inner consciousness remains untouched by the "Masaan" (cremation ground) of the world. They meet at the Sangam not as two victims, but as two travellers who have crossed the river of grief and have arrived at a bridge of detachment. By setting the film in the pilgrimage city of Kashi, the "Great Cremation Ground," the city of salvation, the narrative utilises Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) to illustrate that loss is not an end, but a catalyst for metaphysical awakening.

​IKS does not view suffering as a random cruelty but as Tapas—the heat required to burn away the ego (Ahankara). The literal fires of the Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats serve as a metaphor for the internal fire of the characters. Deepak’s famous breakdown—"Saala yeh dukh kaahe khatam nahi hota bey?"—is the peak of his agony. It is the moment his heart is "fired" like clay, moving from fragile to resilient. Devi’s suffering acts as a Shuddhi (purification). By facing the corruption of the police and the silence and rebuke of her father, she is forced to discard her social conditioning and find her own Swadharma (personal truth).

​The film’s conclusion at the meeting of the rivers is a symbolic Samanvaya (synthesis). In IKS, the Sangam is where individual streams of consciousness merge. Devi and Deepak meet there not as "victims of loss," but as "witnesses of life."

The intense sorrow of loss dominates the first two acts. The final boat ride represents the "Rasa of Rasas." It is the state of Samatva (equanimity), where the agony of the past is not forgotten but is no longer "burning." The characters have achieved a state of Jivanmukti.

The final scene of Masaan—the meeting of Devi and Deepak at the ghats and their boat ride towards Prayagraj Sangam—is not merely a chance encounter or a romantic resolution. Through the lens of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), it represents the ultimate Samanvaya (synthesis) of two individual streams of suffering into a shared state of Shanti (peace) and Jivanmukti (liberation while living).

​In IKS, a Tirtha is a "ford" or a crossing place between the mundane and the spiritual. The Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the invisible Saraswati, is the most sacred of these spaces. Devi and Deepak represent two different types of Dukkha (suffering)—one social and one personal. Their meeting at the Sangam symbolises the Vedic idea that all individual paths of "agony" eventually lead to the same river of universal consciousness.

Just as the Saraswati is invisible at the Sangam, the "redemption" in the final scene is internal and unspoken. It is a Sukshma (subtle) shift from being victims of the past to being witnesses of the present. The scene occurs only after both characters have practised Vairagya (detachment). Deepak has let go of the ring (his attachment to the dead), and Devi has let go of her home (her attachment to a stigmatised identity).

​Their shared boat ride reflects the IKS concept of Sakhya—a relationship based on mutual recognition of the soul’s journey. They do not need to speak of their trauma because, in the state of detachment, the "story" of the self matters less than the shared silence of the spirit.

​The Natyashastra describes Shanti as the "Rasa of Rasas," the equilibrium that remains when all other emotions (Bhavas) have been exhausted. Throughout the film, the audience is immersed in Karuna (pathos). In the final scene, as the boat moves across the water, the Karuna dissolves into Shanti. The camera’s lingering gaze on the horizon and the characters’ calm faces invite the viewer to experience a state of mental clarity and serenity.

​The final scene embodies Punarnava (becoming new again). In IKS, life is cyclical, not linear. While the "Masaan" (cremation ground) was a place of darkness and ash, the Sangam is bathed in light. This is the "imagined light" of hope that resurfaces once the "heavy" and tragic elements of the past have been surrendered to the river. It confirms the Vedic teaching: “Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya” (Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light).

Works Consulted

Bhatia, S. C., Madabushi, J., Kolli, V., Bhatia, S. K., & Madaan, V. (2013). The Bhagavad Gita and contemporary psychotherapies. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(Suppl 2), S230–S239. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105535

Bhatt, S. R. Being Human in Multicultural Traditions. Edited by Remi Rajani Kalangi and Vensus A. George, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2017.

Das, Ganesh Prasad. "Identity and Destiny of Man in a Multicultural World." Being Human in Multicultural Traditions, edited by Remi Rajani Kalangi and Vensus A. George, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2017, pp. 133-45.

Ghaywan, Neeraj, director. Masaan. Performances by Richa Chadha, Shweta Tripathi and Vicky Kaushal, Drishyam Films / Phantom Films, 2015.

Parajuli and Paudel. “Conscious Dying and the Metaphysics of Death: A Comparative and Interdisciplinary Analysis of Eastern and Western Perspectives”. (2026). Philosophical Insights and Key Teachings, Nepal Journals Online. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/phe/article/download/81107/62170/233442

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Bio:

Pradipta Mukherjee is a distinguished film critic and Associate Professor in the Department of English, Vidyasagar College for Women, University of Calcutta. With a dynamic academic and research career that bridges literature and films, she has contributed significantly to the study of cinema, adaptation, and cultural representation.

She has served as a member of the Regional Film Selection Board, Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan Kendra Kolkata, Government of India.

 Mukherjee’s authored books include The Fluid Frame in Cinema (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK, 2021), Tragic Survivals: From the Hellenic to the Postmodern (2017), Shakespeare on the Celluloid (2014), among others.  In addition to these, she has authored and co-edited above fifteen influential books and anthologies, such as Conundrums of Depiction, Reception and Witnessing (2025), Diaspora and Migration: Interrogating Homeland and Identity in a World of Precarity (2024), Living Dystopian (Cambridge Scholars, 2023), 21st Century Perspectives on Indian Writing in English (Cambridge Scholars, 2023), Dodging Dystopia (2022), among others.

An active researcher and international academic voice, Mukherjee has presented her work at prestigious global platforms including the IASPR Conference in Brussels, University of Paris 13, University of Amsterdam, University of London, University of Leeds, and Queen’s University Belfast (Distinguished Lecture Series), as well as Babes-Bolyai University, Romania, IIAS Shimla, Osmania University, Kakatiya University, Himachal Pradesh University, where she has served as a Resource Person or Plenary Speaker. Notably, she was the Keynote Speaker on South Asian Diasporic Cinema at the University of Grenoble Alpes, France, in 2019.

Mukherjee also serves on the Advisory Board of the Inspirare Arts Foundation, where she was the Organising Secretary for several international conferences with leading Indian Universities. In 2025, she was invited to co-teach “Asian Shakespeares on Screen” as an Invited Professor at Queen’s University Belfast.