5 films on the girl child

Beti

The girl child and challenges she faces to create her own identity, have often been represented on screen. International Day of the Girl Child falls on October 11. Here are some films to indulge in

Beti

P Sheshadri’s Kannada film ‘Beti’, narrates the story of a father, mother and their mute daughter Julekha, who is married of to Sulaiman. After a few months of their wedding, Sulaiman leaves to Dubai for work, and Julekha gives birth to a girl child. Sulaiman wants only a boy child. Fearing how Sulaiman would react, Julekha’s parents inform him that a boy has been born. For years, Sulaiman is unable to visit Julekha and the child, so when news of his return comes, the whole household is thrown into panic.

Lakshmi

Lakshmi, a Tamil musical dance film, written and directed by A L Vijay, starred Ditya Bhande, Prabhu Deva and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead roles. The film is about Lakshmi (Ditya) whose world revolves around dancing and winning the ‘Pride of Life India Jr’ title in a national level dance competition. Her mother Nandini (Aishwarya) doesn’t approve of music and dance. She befriends Vijay Krishna alias VK (Prabhu Deva) who helps her to enter the contest. The struggles she faces to achieve her dream, despite losing her hearing ability in an accident, forms the plot.

Parched

Leena Yadav’s ‘Parched’, released in 2015, was set in a desert village of Rajasthan. It highlights the stories of issues faced by women, and talks about child marriage. Among the main characters is Janki (Lehar Khan), a young girl, who as resistance to child marriage, chops off her hair. She is still forced to marry and into the relation. The child bride’s studies are stopped. As the movie progresses, and as the characters revolt against the miseries they face, Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee) asks Janki to leave the marriage, reunite with her childhood sweetheart and continue her studies.

Secret Superstar

Directed by Advait Chandan, ‘Secret Superstar’ is about Insia Malik (Zaira Wasim), an ambitious young girl, who is fighting to create an identity, while living with an orthodox father, Farookh Malik (Raj Arjun). Insia learns to follow her passion, despite restrictions from Farookh. The film also shows struggles that Najma (Meher Vij), Insia’s mother faced, including fighting Farookh’s decision to abort Insia.

Undeterred, Insia strives to follow her passion by anonymously posting her songs on the internet as ‘Secret Superstar’ and becomes a sensation.

Highway

Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Highway’ impressed many for the different subjects it touched. In our country, a lot of young girls are subjected to sexual abuse, and these issues are often brushed aside due to family pressure. Director Imtiaz Ali has showcased the issue in the most mature manner in this film. Veera Tripathi (Alia) is exploited as a child by her uncle, and stays quite about it for ages. She confides about the same to her captor Randeep Hooda (Mahabir Bhati).