Human trafficking---scourge of our time....scourge of all times since the beginning of history....
For human trafficking is what feeds what is reputedly the world's oldest profession---prostitution....
And some of these prostitutes are sex slaves---kidnapped and sold to feed the voracious lust of men....
The story of Lakshmi ( set in Andhra Pradesh ) is similar to that of millions of other girls who have met the famous ' fate worse than death ' . Her father sells her off for a sum of money to human traffickers who force her into the world's oldest profession .
I would like to recommend this movie for seeing to the people who help this profession survive and indeed flourish---the men who visit prostitutes....
.....For the movie gives a real glimpse into the sickening life that the prostitutes are forced to lead in order to satisfy lust of men....
Because they are unwilling to become prey of lust , these women are beaten in the most gruesome manner to force them to sell their bodies . Myriad tortures are invented to prevent them from complaining to the police---like burning their private parts with cigarettes....
The men and women who run this profession are worse even than murderers---they are the scum of the earth literally....psychopaths without mercy....
And maybe after seeing this film some of the men who visit prostitutes will stop going there---for they are sure to be appalled by the savage treatment of these women and may realize what hell is the place they visit....
And Lakshmi is in this hell . Her attempts to escape are punished by increasing brutality . The worst part is the role of police in this . When she runs off and complains to the police , the police send her back to her masters !! Obviously the corrupt police is on the payroll of the human traffickers .
Finally a social worker saves her and other girls from the clutches of her tyrants . But to bring her oppressors to justice will require courage of a different kind . For they threaten her with violence and cajole her and try to give bribes to suppress the truth . And their lawyers ask embarrassing questions in court .
So will Lakshmi summon the courage to send the criminals to jail ?? Watch the movie for that....
The acting by Monali Thakur ( as Lakshmi ) , director Nagesh Kukunoor ( as Chinna , the man who pushes her into prostitution ) and Shefali Shah ( the madam of the *****house ) is realistic . Some scenes like the scene in which Lakshmi is raped for the first time and other scenes of the gruesome violence that is meted out to her and inmates the *****house are too painful to watch .
But the heroism of Lakshmi in court ( she is just 14 years of age ) will make you laugh of the so called heroism of Bollywood heros who beat up 10 men in cinematic unreality . For Lakshmi's heroism is real and not filmy .
The film gets more brutal as it progresses , and the brutality gets more and more unpalatable . Yet one should remember that this is what really happens in these places in real life .
The light hearted musical score is strangely in contrast to the grim proceedings and runs as background music throughout the movie , and sounds ironical to what is happening in the movie .
If you have a yen for realistic cinema , then this film is well worth a watch....
Verdict---Good .
For human trafficking is what feeds what is reputedly the world's oldest profession---prostitution....
And some of these prostitutes are sex slaves---kidnapped and sold to feed the voracious lust of men....
The story of Lakshmi ( set in Andhra Pradesh ) is similar to that of millions of other girls who have met the famous ' fate worse than death ' . Her father sells her off for a sum of money to human traffickers who force her into the world's oldest profession .
I would like to recommend this movie for seeing to the people who help this profession survive and indeed flourish---the men who visit prostitutes....
.....For the movie gives a real glimpse into the sickening life that the prostitutes are forced to lead in order to satisfy lust of men....
Because they are unwilling to become prey of lust , these women are beaten in the most gruesome manner to force them to sell their bodies . Myriad tortures are invented to prevent them from complaining to the police---like burning their private parts with cigarettes....
The men and women who run this profession are worse even than murderers---they are the scum of the earth literally....psychopaths without mercy....
And maybe after seeing this film some of the men who visit prostitutes will stop going there---for they are sure to be appalled by the savage treatment of these women and may realize what hell is the place they visit....
And Lakshmi is in this hell . Her attempts to escape are punished by increasing brutality . The worst part is the role of police in this . When she runs off and complains to the police , the police send her back to her masters !! Obviously the corrupt police is on the payroll of the human traffickers .
Finally a social worker saves her and other girls from the clutches of her tyrants . But to bring her oppressors to justice will require courage of a different kind . For they threaten her with violence and cajole her and try to give bribes to suppress the truth . And their lawyers ask embarrassing questions in court .
So will Lakshmi summon the courage to send the criminals to jail ?? Watch the movie for that....
The acting by Monali Thakur ( as Lakshmi ) , director Nagesh Kukunoor ( as Chinna , the man who pushes her into prostitution ) and Shefali Shah ( the madam of the *****house ) is realistic . Some scenes like the scene in which Lakshmi is raped for the first time and other scenes of the gruesome violence that is meted out to her and inmates the *****house are too painful to watch .
But the heroism of Lakshmi in court ( she is just 14 years of age ) will make you laugh of the so called heroism of Bollywood heros who beat up 10 men in cinematic unreality . For Lakshmi's heroism is real and not filmy .
The film gets more brutal as it progresses , and the brutality gets more and more unpalatable . Yet one should remember that this is what really happens in these places in real life .
The light hearted musical score is strangely in contrast to the grim proceedings and runs as background music throughout the movie , and sounds ironical to what is happening in the movie .
If you have a yen for realistic cinema , then this film is well worth a watch....
Verdict---Good .