Deepti Naval Movies

Truth and fiction mingle effortlessly when an acclaimed novelist is befriended by an inquisitive filmmaker in director Goutam Ghosh's introspective drama. Soon after boarding the train to Delhi, popular novelist Dashrath (Nana Patekar) is befriended by a youthful filmmaker with a noted appreciation for the veteran writer's work. The conversation that follows serves not only to reveal the plot of Dashrath's latest work - a heartfelt romance concerning a beautiful courtesan named Lejvanti (Rekha) and the spell she casts over a noble young hero - but also the fact that the writer himself seems to be haunted by the ghost of a long-lost love. When the writer arrives in Delhi and disappears without a trace, his lovelorn wife is forced to journey deep into her husband's past in order to truly learn what the future holds in store for their love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A rare attempt to marry the widely appealing standards of commercial cinema with the decidedly darker elements of realistic cinema, director Krishna Vamsi's bleak drama explores the horrific results of a marriage haunted by violence and dishonesty. A Canadian Indian orphan who resides with her two uncles, Nandini (Karishma Kapoor) is quickly caving in to her uncles' constant requests to find an appropriate suitor and marry. An unexpected proposal from orphan friend Shekhar (Sanjay Kapoor) soon results in marital bliss, and, as the years pass, the couple has a child named Raja (Jai Gidwani) and everything seems perfect. When Shekhar is troubled by televised reports of turmoil in India, pangs of guilt force him to reveal to his wife that, although he does indeed have a family, they are a family at constant war and he had escaped their bloody feud in order to make a better life for himself. Revealing little to no specific details to his unassuming wife, the family is soon packing their bags for India and a visit to Shekhar's mysterious family. Troubled by the constant attempts on Shekhar's life and the violent actions of her dangerous father-in-law Narsimha (Nana Patekar), Nandini is determined to return to Canada despite the desperate pleas of Shekhar's mother. When Shekhar is brutally murdered and Nandini attempts to escape India with Raja in tow, Narsimha proves that he is willing to undertake drastic measures in order to ensure that his sole remaining heir remain by his side as the unending battle rages around them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story that sent shock waves through India in 1992, this drama concerns Sanwari (Nandita Das), a lower-caste woman with a husband, Sohan (Raghuvir Yadav), and two children, who is raising her family in a rural village. While it's generally Sanwari's nature to mind her own business and take care of her family, when she sees a neighbor woman being mistreated by an man from the city's upper caste, Sanwari is outraged and speaks out in public about the incident. Shobha (Deepti Naval), a social worker, is impressed by Sanwari's conviction and hires her as an assistant as the Indian government begins implementing a program to give greater rights and protection to Indian women. While she's timid at first, Sanwari soon comes to value her work as a feminist activist, but as she becomes more outspoken against sexism and abuse of caste position, she earns the enmity of many powerful men in the community. First Sanwari and her family are shunned by the local leaders, and then a group of men from the town's leadership take their revenge by subjecting Sanwari first to a savage beating and then to a gang rape. Sanwari, Shobha, and Sohan refuse to be intimidated or silenced, and when the local leadership refuses to bring Sanwari's attackers to justice, they bring the crime to the attention of the national media, leading people across the country to demand justice for Sanwari -- and for women all over India. Bawandar was directed and co-scripted by Jagmohan, an Indian filmmaker who has made a number of films in the United States under the name Jag Mundhra. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The inhuman treatment of Untouchables or outcastes in one village in the Indian state of Bihar is the tragedy that fuels this devastating though occasionally flawed drama by Prakash Jha. The village is dictatorially run by a corrupt Brahman (the highest of the four major castes in India) who illegally maintains his control via rigged elections. When the Untouchables who work his land walk out in protest, he coolly orders them massacred and then torches their homes. Soon the police and a government minister arrive to investigate the disaster, but guess whose story they believe? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The English translation of the this Indian film's title is A Summons for Mohan Josh. Bhishan Sahni plays Mohan, a Bombay slum dweller at odds with his absentee landlord. When it becomes clear that the landlord refuses to improve living conditions because he wants to drive the tenants out and tear down the apartment house, Mohan tries to organize his neighbors into a rent strike. Out of fear, they refuse to do so, compelling him to continue his battle alone by hiring an attorney. The ensuing lawsuit takes so long getting before a judge that Mohan's savings are wiped out. Moved by his persistance, Mohan's neighbors finally rally around him--only to discover that the Indian legal system is set up in so archaic a fashion that some cases never get heard in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film by Indian director Ketan Mehta, whose socially conscious work has been compared to Spike Lee, centers around Holi, the Festival of Fire in India. A group of college boys are dissatisfied with their school's policies, including the announcement that they won't be getting the day off from classes for the holiday. The students are angered, and one of them is expelled for injuring the principal's nephew in a fight. The students gather in resistance, and as events and tension escalate, the students turn against the school and burn their furniture and textbooks in an impromptu festival of fire. Loyalties among the students are tested and broken, and tragedy becomes inevitable. The emotionally charged content of this film, tempered by the emotional distance of Mehta's directorial eye provides a rare glimpse of unrest in India. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide