deals with Chuyia (Sarala), a seven-year-old widow who has had her head shaved and been sent by her family to live in a house of widows where they might not be tainted by her misfortune. There she befriends Kalyani (Lisa Ray), the crown jewel of the house with her long hair and such beauty that she is frequently called across the river to entertain rich clients. The widow s life is a drab one.
They are forbidden from wearing anything other than a white sari or eating much more than rice or interacting with normal members of society or otherwise participating in anything beyond a basic survival. But a chance encounter brings Kalyani to the attention of Narayana (John Abraham), a progressive disciple of Ghandi who supports a Indian nationalism yet questions the religion on which the country relies. Naturally, he falls in love with the beautiful Kalyani and focuses his energy on marrying her, a practice that is newly legalized but frowned upon.
Clearly this is a raw deal for the women affected, but what s remarkable about these women is how their faith endures despite the treatment their belief system has inflicted on them. These are women of strong devotion, most of them quick to condemn Chuyia s question of what happens to the male widows as a form of heresy, yet a simple lack of faith would improve their lives considerably. But that s what faith often is a belief despite reason.
If the depiction of the treatment of widows in India is to be believed (and there s no reason to think it isn t), then you have to wonder about a society that permits such injustice. At the same time, though, it s difficult to reconcile such a thing with a Judeo-Christian world view, as it shares little with the Hindu system. To a western audience, such treatment seems incomprehensible, but I imagine a Hindu looking at some of the tenets and laws of Christianity might find them equally appalling.
It s all a matter of context, really. Little of this has to do with the film itself, which in terms of quality compares to Maria Full of Grace (2004), but that s okay because Mehta s chief concern is shining a light in a dark corner and dealing with stories and lives that are often pushed aside. deals with Chuyia (Sarala), a seven-year-old widow who has had her head shaved and been sent by her family to live in a house of widows where they might not be tainted by her misfortune.
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