There are certain movies that are made purely for the commercial purpose while there are others that are issue based flicks that create a platform for a voice to be raised. 'Kafan' a.k.a. 'Forgotten Showers' is one such film that takes you to rural India and gives an insight into the poverty, hunger & exploitation. Adapted from a short story by Munshi Premchand, "Bhuli Hui Baarish", 'Kafan' stars Rajpal Yadav, Sadhu Meher [a favorite with Satyajit Ray] and Nethra Raghuraman.
Period - Post independence era Setting - A village somewhere in remote India
The two protagonists of this story are Ghisu [Sadhu Meher] and Madhav [Rajpal Yadav] who are extremely poor. Poor to such an extent that they have never had a proper meal for a long long time. In fact the last time they had their stomachs full was so many years back that they themselves can't remember that time.
The reasons behind such a state of their were multiple. One, they inherently belonged to the weaker section of the society. Two, they were illiterate and hence had fewer working options. Three, the landlords in the village exploited them in addition to which they had huge debts from the moneylenders!
In such a miserable state of their, they had no other alternative than to do only one thing that could to satisfy their hunger - Steal! Was it good or bad, or morally right - no such questions came to their mind in such a condition.
Good luck knocked their doors when Madhav got married to Budhiya [Nethra Raghuraman], a beautiful woman who herself was from a village. She knew how to make things work for her family and soon their condition improved over the course of time. Everything appeared to be going fine for them as the happy family of three found some order in their life. It appeared that the family would continue to bloom with the news of Budhiya's pregnancy.
But God perhaps had some different scheme set for them!
Their happiness was short-lived as Budhiya's condition worsened in her advanced stage of pregnancy. Ghisu and Madhav tried their level best to save her during her labor pains but couldn't arrange for any medical help due to lack of money.
Budhiya died and the father-son were crestfallen. In this period of depression and helplessness, they faced another problem. Now they needed resources for the cremation of their beloved Budhiya. Finally they were able to perform last rites by begging all over the village. They got enough money for this purpose but still there was some money left. What did they do with it?
They spent the remaining money in eating and also gave some food to a beggar so that he could seek the blessings of Budhiya who was responsible for his meals.
A hard hitting film, 'Kafan' has been realistically treated and is sure to melt even the strongest of hearts due to heart-wrenching performances. A Sushila Bhatia production directed by Vinod Kumar, 'Kafan' is being shown extensively in festival circuits and has already won Audience Choice Award at the Leicester Expo Film Festival 2005, UK.
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