JOIN US During the recent screening of the Tamil film Shakti Pirakkudhu at Alliance Francaise auditorium, many enthusiastic-film buffs were present to enjoy the work of director Usha Rajeswari.
The crowd had many old and young faces, who had come to support the director. Actress Arundhati Nag also made a brief appearance during the screening.
The movie is about a woman named Sundari and her strengths, which not only help her bring up her own family but the entire village that she lives in.
Sundari is a young mother of two in a small village in South India, who wants to start her own business.
Her husband, Murugesa, is scornful of her ambitions and never really supports
her.
Instead, he loiters away time and money in the company of the local shopkeeper Rajamanickam.
During the course of the film, Sundari tries to find her ground by coming up with a business idea even as she deals with many problems at home.
The bad infrastructure of the village, like the unavailability of a bus for transport, adds to her woes further. Such problems prevent her from selling her home-made bags in the markets outside the village and instead, be a slave to the prices offered by Rajamanickam.
But with the support of a women self-help group in the village, Sundari is not only able to establish her business successfully but also manages to bring her family together.
The strong point of the movie was its crisp narrative which did not divert from the main issue — Sundari’s dream to start a business.
Taking up other issues like marital discord and education of the girl child along, the director built a strong foundation for the movie.
The performances by Devadarshini, Sashi and Manaswini in the lead roles were good.
The director was able to bring technical aspects of a business like innovation,
competition and study of the market into the storyline without making it boring.
And even though the audience was city-bred, everyone was taken in by the problems faced by Sundari and her family.
The film also discussed topics like microfinancing in a subtle manner and how it is capable of changing the shape of rural India.
A lot of research went into Shakti Pirakkudhu including numerous conversations
with self-help women groups in villages around Madurai.
The movie aims at inspiring the rural people to look at the larger world outside, raise their aspirations and take charge of their own progress. The movie was thoroughly
enjoyed by everyone present.