Parched
| Parched | |
|---|---|
|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Leena Yadav |
| Produced by |
Ajay Devgn Aseem Bajaj Gulab Singh Tanwar Leena Yadav Rohan Jagdale |
| Written by | Leena Yadav |
| Starring |
Tannishtha Chatterjee Radhika Apte Surveen Chawla Adil Hussain Lehar Khan Sayani Gupta |
| Music by | Hitesh Sonik |
| Cinematography | Russell Carpenter |
| Edited by | Kevin Tent |
Production company | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Parched is a 2015 Indian drama film written and directed by Leena Yadav and produced by Ajay Devgan under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms.[1] It premiered at the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] In India, the film released on 23 September 2016.[3]
Plot
The film revolves around four women living an unwanted life in a village of Rajasthan in the north-western region of India, which still suffers from old, age-ridiculed traditions like forced child marriages,dowry and other social issues like financial difficulties, spousal and familial rape, and physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic husbands.
Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee), who has been a widow for half of her life, is trying with all her might to get her son, Gulab (Riddhi Sen), married to a beautiful girl, Janki (Lehar Khan), from the neighboring village.Gulab is an arrogant prick and considers having sex with sex workers makes him a man,he gets hithched with Janki but this does not makes Rani's life better but worse.Then there is Lajjo (Radhika Apte), a friend of Rani. Lajjo is childless and wants to conceive desperately but fails due to her impotent and alcoholic husband Manoj (Mahesh Balraj), who labels her as 'baanj' (infertile). On top of this, Manoj batters her every night.They both are skilled and work for a local entrepreneur named Kishan (Sumeet Vyas) who owns handicraft industry and employs women much to dislike and hatred of village men,he is also married to an educated north-eastern girl which is looked down upon by villagers. Manoj is jealous of Lajjo being skilled and working with great progress.The fourth woman is Bijli (Surveen Chawla), a local erotic dancer, who is a feast for the eyes of village men. She not just dances but fulfils the inner carnal desires of many men during the dry, sensuous nights of the village.
In plot there is another story of Champa(Sayani Gupta) who does not wants to live in her husband's house because she is traumitised by lecherous male members in family but she is forced to live with her in-laws by village and panchayat.
The men of village fear the development and skill of the women and want to live the lifestyle left by their forefathers.And also women of village fiercely demand for TV connection which was refused by village panchayat but the village women succeed to get it with their own savings.The entwined story of these four women shows how they live in a tightly controlled world, hemmed in by tradition, but in their private spaces, they freely talk about love, sex, and their dreams for the future and enjoy each other's company very much.
The twist to the story comes when Lajjo is tired of the brutality of her husband,sleeps with other man and gets pregnant when she tells her husband about this he beats her Rani comes to her rescue and accidently Manoj gets burnt and dies.Rani discovers before marriage Janki was dishonored in her village as due to lack of dowry she couldn't got married to her classmate and childhood friend who still admires her,she also confronts her spoilt son who leaves the house.Janki desires to study,thereon Rani decides to let go of Janki setting her free with the boy.Bijli is jealous of a new girl Rekha, who might replace her. This leads to a journey of freedom and finding solace in each other together.
Cast
- Tannishtha Chatterjee as Rani
- Radhika Apte as Lajjo
- Surveen Chawla as Bijli
- Adil Hussain as mystic lover
- Sumeet Vyas as Kishan[4]
- Lehar Khan as Janki, Gulab's wife
- Riddhi Sen as Gulab, Rani's son
- Sayani Gupta as Champa
Reception
The film currently has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.[5] Meena Iyer from The Times of India rated the film 4 out 5 stars, and mentioned that Parched "takes you into a disturbing and thought-provoking territory".[6] Hindustan Times stated that the film is important because it tries to celebrate the long struggle against unjust system of forced patriarchy.[7] Although the film received critical acclaim,[8] it failed to have any impact on box office collections after its release in India.[9]
References
- ↑ "Parched". TIFF. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ↑ "Toronto to open with 'Demolition'; world premieres for 'Trumbo', 'The Program'". ScreenDaily. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ↑ "Ajay Devgn's production 'Parched' to release on September 23"
- ↑ https://twitter.com/leenayadav/status/642594048302182400
- ↑ Parched, retrieved 2016-09-27
- ↑ "Parched Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- ↑ "Parched review: Where women celebrate struggles and emerge winners". 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
- ↑ Redkar, Surabhi. "Parched Review | Koimoi". www.koimoi.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ↑ Sarkar, Suparno. "Banjo, Parched 3-day box office collection: Both movies show muted earnings over 1st weekend". Retrieved 2016-09-27.
External links
- Parched at the Internet Movie Database