Maya (2001)

MAYA is a coming of age story set against an outlawed brutal practice of ritual rape still occurring in some parts of India.

Director:

Digvijay Singh

Writers:

Emmanuel Pappas, Digvijay Singh

Stars:

Anant Nag, Mita Vasisht, Nitya Shetty

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Anant Nag	...	Arun
Mita Vasisht	...	Lakshmi
Nitya Shetty	...	Maya
Nikhil Yadav	...	Sanjay
Veerendra Saxena	...	Pujari
Mukesh Bhatt	...	Ganesh
Shilpa Navalkar	...	Mridu
Shreechand Makhija	...	Candyman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bhushan Dhupkar	...	Guri
Abhichandra Jella	...	Vivek
P.K. Sharma	...	Temple Priest (1)
Prasad Sharma	...	Temple Priest (2)
Shankar Sharma	...	Temple Priest (3)
Girish Singh	...	Raju
Sasidhar Valluri	...	Butcher

Storyline

For 12 year-old Maya, life is very simple in her village in rural India. From innocent pranks to small adventures in the nearby forest, she spends most of her time with her 11 year-old cousin Sanjay. However, their fraternal love will be shattered when Sanjay will fail to save her from her fate: as a girl becomes a woman, she is the victim of an ancient and brutal ritual that leaves her scarred for life. This ceremony, although forbidden, is still practiced in parts of the country today.

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Plot Keywords:

india | ritual | rape | coming of age | child abuse | 

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Taglines:

A child's innocence shattered by tradition.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Kundalini Pictures [production co] Information

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

16 January 2002 (Belgium)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kundalini Pictures, On the Road

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

eye opener

I love to watch documentaries as against pure commercial flicks and so I picked up this movie. Mita Vashisht,Ananth nag and the kids have put in a brilliant performance. The first part of the movie really kept me guessing what the story was all about.I thought it was really generous of the couple to bring up Maya as their own kid.The pranks played by the children did remind me at times of the fun we had as kids.Other than that there was nothing special really. As the story progressed about the girls first period I thought they would show just another ritual performed in some parts of our country. What was shocking was it was more than just a ritual........a brutal rape and child abuse still prevalent in our country, which I thought never existed.In the name of religion people are encouraging the wrong practices.Maya should be an eye opener to the educated section of our society who can create more awareness amongst the superstitious and orthodox community.