SANDHYA - AN AWAKENING

Sandhya - An Awakening focuses the status of women in a patriarchal village society. It also bears resemblance to real-life instances of gender imbalance and economics, fraternal polyandry, bride buying and rape in remote parts of rural India.

While Indian weddings are a beautiful, soulful affair, filled with ancient traditions and rituals which claim to bond the husband and wife, there are still some traditions that are dated. Keeping up with the times, such wedding traditions and cultures should be done away with as some of these sexist traditions may scar a girl’s mind for life. By showcasing the cause of worry of such sexist traditions, the film is an inspirational story of how a single girl fights against such societal norms to get herself justice.

Shot at real time locations in Meerut, Mawana, Nangla Jamalpur, Deobandh and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh, India, the film comes across as a shocker to those traditional Indian audiences who have grown up on the staple diet of sugar-coated romances and feel-good cinema. You ought to have a strong stomach to absorb a film like Sandhya. With this film, the makers wanted to examine the emotional and psychological impact of a girl in a village society where in the garb of rituals and traditions, fraternal polyandry is a norm with the social pillars even supporting it. Though this story is fictional, it is based on many of the incidents reported in main stream media. Also the central plot of the film is in sync with the recently enforced “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” movement in India.

The makers say, “To jolt one out of his or her senses, Sandhya is going to make one think as there is nothing intrinsic linking any religion with any act of violence. Evoking a wide variety of emotions - anger, rage, antipathy, disgust, abhorrence, revulsion as well as anxiety, Sandhya is also an eye opener to those who are willing to fight the system and ban the practice. Her exemplary courage can be a pointer that could change girls' lives in such a polyandry and bride buying society. With this film, the makers are trying to reach out to people around the world drawing their attention to support the movement of educating every girl child in India to secure a better future.”