sb-47-608737

This movie is just loosely based on the original story, with quite a bit of changes, and not really for the best. The closest what I have seen to the original is the Bengali version, of 1969, starring the legendary Soumitra in the lead role, with Mousumi as Lalita. If one gets a chance, one should watch that, just to compare. The sweetness of the story is lost in this version, which the 1969 retained. That was surprising, considering the director, Bimal Roy, was Bengali as was the producer/ hero, Ashok. Probably the over dramatisation was done to cater to the 'audience' and that spoiled the taste, quite a bit. Of course I won't say the 1969 version too did total justice to the original novel, especially with regards to the Male role (of Shekhar), who was weak. But still one would not notice that aberration, unless one has read the novel. The difference was masked by creating circumstances, so that it was not necessary to be weak.

I am surprised at the low score given to the movie, and can't really understand the cause. has it been due to it being against the racial stereotype ?

My score would be about 7.5* despite not having a fairy tale ending. But being true life (supposed to be), it couldn't have one.

The movie, as the story goes, somehow brings more positives in the uncivilised pagans than in the civilised sect. They had their set of laws- some of them might seem brutal, in fact too brutal, but they religiously follow those laws, and even the criminals submit to them without much ado (e.g. in case of the adulterous couple, or even the hero's attitude towards the heroine in the end). Of course I wonder with that level of punishment, why did they dare.

There is an abundance of nudity, especially topless - but somehow it didn't succeed if it was meant to titillate. For that the credit goes to the lead actress. I don't know deliberately or per chance the lead heroine wasn't over-endowed and that killed that chance, and one could watch the movie without concentrating on the biological aspects. And once that is settled, I simply don't see anything which could be negative enough to have this score.

Since it is the autobiography of the girl, i assume the events are almost real, there would be naturally some changes, which she would make while narrating. But if she did, the story didn't really become unbelievable.

Of course not being aware of the culture, I shouldn't comment, but to my knowledge, head hunters take the heads of their victims. In this case the two, the heroines parents, were already dead when the protagonist and his team arrived. In that case the trophies were not justified. And of course the big bonus point is the depiction of the forest. Several websites call it as cannibal - but the tribe wasn't one - in fact they were at war against the cannibal tribe.