Synopsis:
Inspired by the 2006 Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language film, "Water," this documentary tells the story of some of the 20 million Indian widows who are abandoned by their families and literally turned out into the streets when their husbands died. "Water" was a fictional recounting of this terrible tradition, set in 1938. "The Forgotten Woman" is true, and happening today. Written by Anonymous
Gifted to her husband and his family at the age of 5, and after becoming an adult a young woman subsequently gave birth to 10 children. Most of the children re-locate, never to be heard from again, the husband passes away, and this lady ends up at Vrindavan. Another lady, married at the age of 11, and who also ends up at Vrindavan after the passing of her husband. These 2 heart-wrenching stories are just the tip of the iceberg, amongst many other equally painful stories of women, forced to live in destitute conditions. They believe they will obtain Moksha at this holy site, but wear drab clothes, no ornaments nor make-up, are only permitted to wear colorful clothes during Holi. They sing at the Bhajan Mandir, paid a pittance, fed rice and lentils, often sexually molested, and shunned by everyone. Eighty percent these widows come from West Bengal, while others re-locate here from Rajasthan, Gujarat, and other locations. This movie also documents ground breaking work done by some woman's organization, and the apathy shown by politicians in a country that ostensibly claims to be nuclear-powered, and hi-tech, while most Indians are not even aware of the plight of these women, including the Mrityu Ghar (Death House), where quite a few aged and ailing widows end up spending their last days on Earth.
Starring:
V. Mohini Giri
Indira Jaisingh
Aishwarya Mukherjee
Director: Dilip Mehta
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