Peepli Live began as a script written by NDTV journalist Anusha Rizvi called The Fallen. In 2004 Rizvi asked Khan to read her script and, although he initially refused as he was preoccupied with shooting Mangal Pandey: The Rising, he eventually relented and decided to finance the film after she described the plot to him. Peepli Live was filmed on location in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi. According to Aamir Khan, many of the actors are Adivasis from the village of Bhadwai in Madhya Pradesh. Other cast members are from playwright Habib Tanvirs theatre troupe Naya Theatre.

Critical reception

It currently holds an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews and an A- [ 76% ] on All Bollywood based on 15 reviews. Rajeev Masand of IBN rated it 3.5/5 "Helped enormously by a rousing soundtrack, armed with a tight, intuitive script and a confident directorial approach, Rizvi turns Peepli Live into a simplistic yet engaging picture of a sad reality". . Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times rate it 4/5 "The satire is irresistible; the subtext, compelling. And yet neither shows itself up in any form of self-seriousness. The comic writing is immaculately inspired" Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express rated it 3/5 "First-time director Anusha Rizvi''s disturbing satire on the state of India today Peepli [Live] cuts deep, letting it bleed." Nikhat Kazmi of the Times of India rated it 3.5/5 and stated "The film unfolds like a hard-hitting satire that turns its tongue-in-cheek gaze over almost all thats incongruous in contemporary Indian society" Mathures Paul of The Statesman gave the film 4 out of 5 stating, "Anusha Rizvi demolishes successfully whatever little faith we had in the political process. Peepli [Live] is entertaining and inspiring".

Trivia

Pipili is a small town near coastal Orissa famous for its Applique handicraft. The fictitious character Budhia played by Raghubir Yadav shares his name with Budhia Singh , the worlds youngest marathon runner from the Indian state of Orissa.

Track list

}} The music is composed by Indian Ocean, an Indian band and Ram Sampath.

Song	Singers
1. "Desh Mera"	Indian Ocean
2. "Mehngai Dayan"	Raghuveer Yadav - Composed by Ram Sampath.
3. "Zindagi Se Darte Ho"	Indian Ocean
4. "Chola Maati Ke Ram"	Nageen Tanvir - original by Gangaram Siwar
5. "Des Mera [II]"	Indian Ocean
6. "Mehngai Dayan [Remix]"	Raghuveer Yadav

Plagiarism

The song "Chola Mati Ke Ram" is originally composed and written in 1978 by Gangaram Siwar [1930-1982], a celebrated folk singer of Chhattisgarh who sang for AIR [All India Radio] for nearly four decades. His song has been used in the film without giving any credit to him, according to some protesters. These protesters are demanding that Siwars family who is living under abject poverty working as daily wage earners should be financially remunerated in addition to giving credit to Gangaram Siwar for the for use of his song. However, the Habib Tanvir Theater group which has recorded the song maintains that the group has officially purchased the rights for the song and protesters do not need to protest. Nageen Tanvir who has rendered the song for movie has credited Gangaram Siwar for the song in public events.

Premiere

Peepli Live had its Melbourne premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival MIFF 2010 on 6 August 2010 at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne. The special screening was introduced by Aamir Khan and concluded with a Q&A session with him.