Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women Dvd

Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (Hindi: मातृभूमि, translation: Motherland) is a 2003 Indian dystopian tragedy film written and directed by Manish Jha. The film examines the impact of female foeticide and female infanticide on the gender balance and consequently the stability and attitudes of society. Its storyline bears some resemblance to real-life instances of gender imbalance and economics resulting in fraternal polyandry and bride buying in some parts of India. It depicts a future in an Indian village populated exclusively by males due to female infanticide over the years.

Matrubhoomi received widespread critical acclaim and was shown at festivals through 2003, including the 2003 Venice Film Festival, where it was presented in the Critic’s Week (Parallel Sections) and later awarded the FIPRESCI Award “For it’s [sic] important theme on women’s issues and female infanticide handled with sensitivity by a first-time director”.

Plot

The story begins in a rural village in Bihar, with the delivery of a baby girl to a village couple. Her disappointed father, who was hoping for a boy, drowns her in vat of milk in a public ceremony. Many years later somewhere around 2050 A.D., this unchecked trend leads to the village being populated mainly by males and a tiny number of older women. The now uncouth and aggressive young men of the village are desperate for wives and release their frustration through group screenings of imported pornographic films, cross-dressed dance performances, and even bestiality. They are shown to be willing to go to the lengths of human trafficking and courtship-driven emigration to procure spouses for themselves.

Ramcharan (Sudhir Pandey) a wealthy man and the father of five young men finds out about a single young girl, named Kalki (Tulip Joshi), living some distance from the village and buys her from her father. She is then married to all the five sons simultaneously. Each night of the week, she is forced to sleep with one of the men, including Ramcharan. Of all the men in the boorish lot, only the youngest son Sooraj (Sushant Singh) treats her with respect and tenderness.

Kalki develops a preference towards Sooraj, causing him to be killed by his jealous brothers. Kalki asks her father to help her escape but he is blinded by the money given to him as dowry, and he turns her down. A sympathetic domestic servant boy helps her to escape but he is brutally murdered by the brothers, while Kalki gets recaptured by them and they chained her to a post in a cow shed.She becomes a pawn in a game of revenge, in an inter-community conflict. The lower caste community of the village hold her responsible for the death of the servant boy, and decide to avenge the murder through gang rape. Kalki is then sent back to her husbands.

Kalki becomes pregnant and everybody rejoices. A new servant boy is appointed for her care. As the news spreads, every man in the area claims paternity of the unborn child, which causes violence to break out in the village. The men kill each other off over rights to Kalki and her child. In the meanwhile Kalki goes into labour. The film ends on a violent but hopeful note, as she births a baby girl.

Cast

Tulip Joshi – Kalki
Sudhir Pandey – Ramsharan
Sushant Singh – Sooraj
Vinamra Pancharia – Raghu
Aditya Srivastava – Raghu’s Uncle
Piyush Mishra – Jagannath
Mukesh Bhatt- Raghu’s elder brother
Pankaj Jha – Rakesh
Sanjay Kumar – Brijesh
Rohitash Gaud – Pratab
Rajesh Jais as Princess Pinkey
Deepak Kumar Bandhu – Shailesh
Amin Gazi – Sukha
Chittaranjan Giri – Pappu