Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women

I saw this movie 3 years ago on Motovun film festival in Croatia. This movie is cut in my memory and believe me you won't forget this movie this easy.

This movie was competition Amnesty International movie award for movies which theme was human rights and encourage protection of human rights.

According to recent UNESCO report, in population of India in some 50 million women short,due to gender discrimination. The film is set in future, village of Matrubhoomi, where due to rampant female infanticide( killing of all female babies), women are practically extinct.

Story is about a father and his five sons are frustrated because they are not able to find a bride.When A family priest finds a beautiful girl in faraway village.Her father is happy to sell her.She is taken to Matrubi,where she is married to the five brothers,all five of whom,including father, exercise their conjugal rights in turn.

Movie is one of the saddest movie I ever saw.It's so brutal,so real and very shocking.I highly recommend this movie.

The title 'matrubhoomi' is an apt satirical name from this hard-hitting movie on female infanticide.

The movie is based on a fictional, futuristic rural area in India where there is a dearth of fairer sex. The story revolves around Kalki, one of the very few surviving young women and her ordeals in such a dysfunctional society.

Tulip Joshi has delivered a very restraint performance. Her suppressed character doesn't speak much but does have a lot to say. Joshi with her subtle facial expression has done that with total perfection. She could had ruined it easily by giving a loud shrieking/screaming act.The director is also to be given credit for it.In an era when some actress' 'Charlie Chaplin' act is winning all accolades, its unfortunate that this wonderful performance went unnoticed..The rest of the cast has also done a good job. The first time director Manish Jha has done a remarkable.He never gets carried and not allowed the movie to go loud at any instance.The innovative script is quite gripping and never goes astray. The rustic look of rural India is very realistically captured in the camera. On the negative side, one may feel that the violent developments towards the end of the movie was bit overdone but then its difficult to predict how lowly man can go under extreme conditions.

Another good point is that the extreme sexual violence is implied but not graphical.Overall a good, hard-hitting, must watch movie though certain sections of audience may not identify with the movie because of its gloomy, 'not so feel good' nature.

A very shocking drama set in a near-future rural village in India, where due to peoples desire for a son has dis-balanced the area's sex ratio and subsequently the female population has totally perished. Movie begins with the shocking scene of a father killing a new born female child by drowning her in a tank filled with milk and praying to grant him a son next year. This very first scene explains how desperate are the village people for son, and its a customary rule there to ignore(murder) a female child at all cost. After this scene the rest of the movie depicts the aftermath of such wicked trend, and which is the issue of this movie.

I prefer not say more, you better find out yourself. However I should warn you, there are some scene/moments in the film which are quite intense for some viewers.

Rating 8/10.

First of all let us ponder as to why we let this type of cinematic creations pass off without minimal considerations...why?? Its really a shame that in the ensuing cinematic race where only 'super star, sex and commercial profit' hold command, these type of 'sensitive, real' cinematic creations lag far behind in terms of due recognition (at least in sense of viewership response). In fact, I had the opportunity to watch the movie only a month ago.. 11 years after its release and certainly there would be many who are still deprived of the opportunity to watch this movie. Well, in due appreciation to the unconventionally superb cinematic treatment of a sensitive social issue, I would recommend everyone interested in viewing real cinema to have a shot at "Matrubhoomi: A Nation without Women" and enrich themselves with a sublime experience. It has no doubt turned "Bandit Queen" upside down!! Just go for it..

I just got through watching this movie and I must say it is very well made. However, I found some character flaws in the movie. For example, the lady goes through so many hard things and never questions her desire to live? why is that? And then at the end of the movie the baby is a girl...but then why does she smile and be happy about having a girl? shouldn't she have been upset? Also, doesn't this movie leave the message that women cause problems in society rather than good? Because of her occurred all the killings, riots, etc. (this is my movie critique, not my personal belief?) Please correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, I did enjoy the characters of the 5 brothers, her father was a pimp, and her father in law didn't deserve to live.

Overall a great movie worth watching with a powerful message (despite the way it is conveyed)