A Tale of a Naughty Girl

Buddhadeb Dasgupta's "Tale of a Naughty Girl"

Screened at the International Film Festival, Mumbai by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images.

Plot Synopsis: A prostitute decides to sell her young teenage daughter to a rich old man, so they can escape the bleakness of their lives. But the young girl who has been to school wants to pursue studies. All this unfolds against the backdrop of News of Man's First Trip to the Moon reaching the sleepy village.

Review:

Poetry and beauty against the harsh reality of prostitution. Uplifting hope and innocent beauty in the world of perversion and denigration. And a touching, inspiring metaphor. These are the elements that come together to make this stunningly simple, touching movie.

The story revolves around the idyllic beauty of the indian country side and the harsh ugliness of its brothel. The characters are mostly predictable but the sensitivity with which they are portrayed makes it a delight to watch. The Kind Hearted driver, the dirty old man, his yes-man, the prostitute who knows her time as a young femme fatale is at teh end of the tether, the donkey that always gives the truthful answer .... all make excellent characters in this tale that is woven like a fable. The protagonist is the

little girl who dreams of acquiring knowledge, what seems unattainable to her ... the metaphoric comparison with Man setting foot on the Moon. All of these beautiful elements make a sensitive movie that fills your heart and is completely uplifting.

The beautiful camera work, the lilting music, convincing performances and deft direction make this movie a delight to watch.

A charming 9!!

Its a simple story of an ambitious girl who wants to avoid a life of treachery by pursuing education, but the presentation is entertaining as opposed to the usual focus on tragedy by Bengali directors.It's a quirky, funny, entertaining movie. It has its moments. There is interesting use of imagery and metaphors - intertwining lives of cats and girls. Characters are very apt. Casting is right on the mark with appropriate choice of actors to represent the stereotypes. Lots of tongue in cheek humor – there are hospitals for animals and cars, but none for humans. Good representation of rustic Indian lifestyle.The director has cleverly captured the ways and means of everyday life in Indian villages.

Mondo Meyer Upakhyan (2002): Brief Review -

A brave take against prostitute culture that Gangubai Kathiawadi or any other Bollywood movie could never dare to make or even imagine. SLB's Gangubai Kathiawadi told the true story of a prostitute who was forced into the dirty world, but then made an infamous name for herself. The film never dared to go against the prostitute culture, and the same goes for Heera Mandi. Buddhadev Dasgupta did that long ago, and at a time when such films were neither made nor even imagined. Dasgupta dared to go against that tradition and chose a young school girl as the central character, bringing emotional and inspirational weight to the film. A young girl who wants to go to school and become educated is forced by her own mother to become the mistress of an old man. The film explores that girl's ambitions and dreams. The scientific achievement of man landing on the moon is used so beautifully here that you can literally see those emotions and dreams reflected in the girl's eyes through that simple frame of the moon. It's more about that moon with spots than this girl with the "spot" of a prostitute family. Dasgupta also weaves in sublayers-such as a driver who hates his boss and helps the girl-showing that even this dirty ghetto can still have a good soul in it. Another strand follows the old man's sexual desires at his age, with the narrative not shying away from a brutal exploration of the same in the cinema hall scenes. One more story portrays a prostitute, a married woman tortured by her husband for money. She finally breaks free, and that's where feminism triumphs. I haven't seen any other film on prostitution being this brave and inspiring till date. Even a masterpiece like Nights of Cabiria (1957) revolves around a prostitute's dreams and struggles, but never lets her escape the dirty world. With fine performances and a powerful subject, Mondo Meyer Upakhyan makes for a solid watch for content-driven cinema lovers. A deserving National Award winner in my opinion.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.