Right through the movie there was something very eerie. You know right from the time that you see people running from the "ghoul" that it's just a sad woman with a tragic tale, etc etc., but there's still something that makes you feel really uncomfortable.
What really worked out well in the movie was how gripping it was. There really wasn't any point when I lost interest.
But in the end it seemed wasted because the way the movie ended was a bit too convenient. There was nothing much that could happen to Chandi, in any case. She couldn't possibly return to a normal state, even if her son tried making her better. She wouldn't be left alone and depressed right till the end, because then there would be no movement in the story. So kill her. Have her die in a heroic attempt to save a train full of people. She gets a bravery award posthumously and is finally recognised as a good woman. Her son announces in front of the whole village that she was his mother, and the movie ends. Finished.
But anyway, the movie was very sad and very disturbing... No convenient ending can take away from that. We all live so comfortably with our regular jobs in our regular lives; the worst job we can even imagine is cleaning public toilets. And still there are people who have to bury little dead babies, and look after their graves. It was a job forced onto them by society because no one else wanted to do it, and because being an "untouchable" makes it (or 'made' it, at least)easy to be picked on. Easy targets. They were guilt-tripped into remaining in their jobs by being constantly reminded that it was the work "God told them to do". So how could they possibly escape? About the acting: good. Not great. Atul Kulkarni and Nandita Das were both good, but there was a little over-acting happening. If it had been toned down by HALF a notch it would have been fine. The others were amateur theatre actors and extras, and I suppose not much can be expected from them on their own. But they're not on their own. They have a director. That director (Chitra Palekar) should have removed the forced overacting and worked hard on replacing it with natural conversation, and natural reactions and behaviour. It was a little difficult to over-look. Right through the movie you're reminded "They're acting, they're acting" and rarely "they're happy" or "they're shocked". Even with the young boy who plays the protagonist. The expressions in his eyes were moving,and luckily those were focused on well, but beyond that his acting was unconvincing.
The film started off well, but left me disappointed.
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