While discussing the phenomenon of some Indian communities having to pay bride price to get brides for their men due to the female feticide practices there, my movie buff friend Abhaya recommended that I see this film and since I value his recommendations highly I did. It however was not easy and I discovered some thing new which too I wish to share with my readers.
The new discovery first. I could not see it in a theater and so went searching for it in DVD form without any success. While I was surfing for it online, I discovered a link that took me to YouTube, where I found that it was available for sale for viewing online for as many times as I want if I paid for it. I duly bought the, shall we say, viewing rights, using another new discovery, Google Wallet. And Bingo, I was able to see the film without the slightest problem on my computer screen.
I expected a story of bride price being paid but this story is about a marriage forced on a kidnapped groom as a suitable groom under normal circumstances was not available for him. Based on real events in Bihar, this story is about a kidnapped groom, his pre kidnap life, the girl he marries and what happens to her. Background characters in the form of parents of both, their henchmen and so on are very realistically portrayed. On location filming that I could identify as Bihar with the actors speaking the local accent, made the experience a very enjoyable one. For those not familiar with the feudal life styles of Bihar and parts of UP this will be a discovery as, it portrays that lifestyle quite realistically.
A social problem, a rural value system in conflict with an urban one, helplessness of the various characters enmeshed in a patriarchal and feudal system is brilliantly shown and I am not surprised that it received so many awards and accolades besides very high critical acclaim.
While thanking Abhaya for this excellent recommendation, I give this film [rating=6] rating with great pleasure.