Kajarya

Kajarya is a 2015 Indian Bollywood docu-drama film directed by Madhureeta Anand. ‘Kajarya’ explores the issue of female infanticide, and was released commercially in India on 4 December 2015.^[1] to rave reviews and a good audience reception. The film is co-produced by Bengali director Qaushiq Mukherjee popularly known as Q, Starfire movies and Madhureeta Anand’s company Ekaa Films.^[2] The film is shot in Haryana.^[3]

It is a feature film that deals with the pertinent topic of sex selection in India. It is a thriller about two women - The first is Kajarya played by Meena Hooda, a woman who lives in the village and has the job of killing babies and the other is an opportunistic journalist from New Delhi played by Ridhima Sud.^[4]

Cast

Meenu Hooda as Kajarya

Ridhima Sud as Meera

Nasir Ali as Sub-Inspector

Manoj Bakshi as Police Inspector

Shashi Bhushan as Shambhu

Sudheer Chobessy as Girdhari

Tanaji Dasgupta as Priest's Assistant

Priyankar Tanwar Isha as Lady Constable

Shakeel Qureshi as Priest

Savita Rani as Uma

Kuldeep Ruhil as Banwari

Raj Shree as Meera's Mother

Kamal Vinayak as Meera's Father

Sumeet Vyas as Nikhil

Soundtrack

The film’s music has been scored by Richard Horowitz, who is a Golden Globe Award winner and an Academy Award nominee. The film was one of the three Indian films selected to be premiered at the 10th Dubai International Film Festival, 2013 that celebrated the 100 years of Indian cinema.^[5]

Awards and Accolades

The film was seen by Eve Ensler (writer of The Vagina Monologues) and was greatly appreciated by her. The film has an all-new star cast of trained actors and explores the issue of female foeticide and related women’s issues.

• The film premiered at The Dubai International Film Festival as one of the 3 films that had its world premier there.
• The Film’s Europe Premier took place in Geneva at The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights where Kajarya was one of the 8 films in competition.
• The film was the opening film at Elles Tournet in Brussels, a prestigious women's film festival.
• In addition, the film was selected at The Montreal World Film Festival.
• Kajarya also won the “Best Foreign Film Award” at The Silk Road Film Festival in Xian, China. The festival had 140 films and Kajarya was the only Indian film to win an award.
• The film has since traveled to 10 other film festivals in America and Europe.
• Kajarya was screened in Los Angeles at both The Lady Film Festival and The La Femme Film Festival.

The Hollywood reporter review said, "Kajarya is both disturbing and engrossing as it plunges the viewer into the heart of darkness in an Indian village. Director Madhureeta Anand is a storyteller who interweaves the lives of two women - one modern, the other ancient."

Release

The film has release on 4 December 2015.

Activism

Madhureeta Anand has consistently used her influence and films to advocate causes related to gender, sexuality and child rights. Her film Kajarya was backed by 21 NGOs in India and abroad. The film has become a tool for activism and to provoke discussion. The film is slated to be screened in the Parliament. Kajarya is now being quoted as an example of the coming together of social causes and entertainment. She frequently writes columns and articles voicing her views on these subjects. She has formed “The Two Way Street Trust” to bridge the gap between social issues and entertainment.

References

External links

• Kajarya at the Internet Movie Database