Parched (2015) [Movie Review]

Dir: Leena Yadav

Starring: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla

Dur: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Drama

PG: Foul Language, nudity in some scenes, violence, sex.
Rating: 6/10

This is a film that is bound to disconcert many (It got me!). It’s a coming-of-age story about 4 women in a fictional Rajasthani village who face brutal situations in an extremely conservative society and who fight to liberate themselves from their futi kismet. At the outset, it must also be said that the film approaches delicate and hush-hush issues in a brazen manner. To say it simply, the film is primarily about women, with special emphasis on their sexuality.

The film portrays village women in a different light – in a way that I never thought of before. They are brave enough to share their sexual feelings and even their frustrations. Though externally they are extremely conservative and docile to their village rules and customs, internally they struggle and their turmoil is aptly portrayed. The film doesn’t aim to arouse pity in the viewer but rather desires to shock and awaken. 70 years after independence and our women are still second class citizens in many parts. Social and cultural norms of various sub-societies in our country perhaps pose obstacles to integral development. Customs and traditions that teach boys that they are superior to all women, including their mothers, need to be revised and perhaps even updated.

The drama is tangible and so are the emotions. The cast and crew have gone out to make it as realistic as possible, costume, dialect and all. The story builds up well but perhaps it goes a little too far in trying to show nearly 98% of men as womanizers and abusers. Since the story is told from the woman’s point of view the angle is understandable and cannot be taken to be wholly true, even though it does ring loudly to truth. I think the film is great for a mature audience. It astonishes and challenges – something you’d expect from social dramas.