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KAIREE
Tribute to the girl child
It
took 18 years for Amol Palekar to finally make his dream materialise.
He confesses to have visualised the film almost two decades
ago and now with the help of the ministry of health and family
welfare, he has managed to make an offbeat film. This is a
time when films like Fiza and Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke are cashing
in on the names of their heroes. In Kairee, except for Mohan
Gokhale, this was his last film before his death, all the
other artistes are debutants who have performed quite creditably.
Kairee is about a ten-year-old orphan who comes to live with
her maternal aunt Taanimausi after the demise of her parents.
Uprooted from a loving home to an unknown world, the story
is told from her perspective. It traces her life in flashback
and ends with Sonali Kulkarni, who makes a special appearance,
recalling her childhood. It deals with the trauma of being
a girl in a male-dominated world (she is the only girl in
her village school), her struggle to cope with hostilities
in her new environment. It also throws light on the importance
of educating the female population, when Taanimausi goes against
all odds to fight for a seat for the girl in the village school.
Based against the backdrop of a village in Maharashtra, the
film also takes a peek at the life of Taanimausi who is unable
to conceive and whose husband has an affair with the maidservant.
Protective that she is, she doesn’t hesitate to hit the
husband and fight for her rights single-handedly when he objects,
besides other things, to the girl staying in his house and
getting an education. She tries her best to preserve the girl’s
innocence and sensitivity as they together face the unpleasantness
and vulgarity of the world. Roaming in the woods, eating raw
mangoes with namak and mirchi, reciting poems, sitting by
the village pond, making a patchwork of a butterfly on her
dress and looking for peacocks are the simplest pleasures
of life the two indulge in.
It is a simple story of two lonely souls and yet discovers
their inner strength, something that enables them to dream
and hope against all odds in a male-dominated society. It
helps the girl to mould a beautiful future.
Based on a short story by renowned Marathi writer GA Kulkarni
who has also penned the dialogue, the film has been produced
by the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of
India. It has screenplay by Chitra Palekar and Amol Palekar.
Madhav Moholkar and Akash Dixit have been instrumental in
translating the dialogue to Hindi, though there still is a
Marathi flavour to the whole film. Bhaskar Chandavarkar’s
melodious music, Waman Bhosle’s slick editing and Debu
Deodhar’s brilliant cinematography need special mention.
As for direction, Amol Palekar who is known for his performances
in films like Chitchor, Rajnigandha and Golmaal and who has
earlier directed six films including Akriet, Ankahee, Thodasa
Roomani Ho Jayen, Bangarwadi and Daayraa, has done a commendable
job. He has managed to extract commendable performances from
all his artistes.
Shilpa Navalkar, daughter of former Maharashtra minister Pramod
Navalkar, as Taanimausi has done an excellent job. Atul Kulkarni,
of Hey Ram fame plays a school teacher while the late Mohan
Gokhale plays Taanimausi’s brute husband. But it is Yogita
Deshmukh as the orphan who needs to be applauded for her brilliant
performance. She has portrayed the traumas in her life with
excellence and one’s heart does go out to her.
As for the film, though gripping, it is slow paced. And since
it has been through the festivals the world over, the general
curiosity should fetch it at least a decent initial.
Namita Nivas
Also see: Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke
Listless, uninspiring fare
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