''Devaki '' is a

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

film released on 6 January 2006. The film directed by

Bappaditya Bandopadhyay Bappaditya Bandopadhyay (; 28 August 1970 – 7 November 2015) was an Indian film director and poet. Career Bandopadhyay was the recipient of the Most Promising Director award for the year 2003, by the BFJA (Bengal Film Journalists' Associa ...

stars

Ram Kapoor Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi films and television. One of the highest paid television actor in India, he is known for portraying Jai Walia in ''Kasamh Se'' and Ram Kapoor in ''Bade Achhe L ...

Suman Ranganathan Suman Ranganathan or Ranganath is an Indian model and actress. She has starred in Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. Personal life She was married to Bunty Walia, an Indian film producer. The couple split in 2007. ...

, Arvin Tucker, and

Perizaad Zorabian Perizaad Zorabian is an Indian actress. Her film debut was with Nagesh Kukunoor's '' Bollywood Calling'' and she gained international recognition for her role as Jenny in Subhash Ghai's '' Joggers' Park'' (2003). Early life Zorabian was born ...

. The film premiered at the Osian Cinefan Asian Film Festival in July 2005. Since then, it has traveled to 11 international film festivals amidst much critical accolades and has been touted as a 'must watch for every woman'. Nominated for the best feature film at

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

, Brazil, Asheville International Film Festival, North Carolina, Global Knight International Film Festival,

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and Golden Gate International Film Festival, San Francisco, it won the award in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

. Officially released on 6 January 2006, this small film has been doing the rounds in the video stores for some time. The plot is derived from a real-life incident where a tribal woman named Devakibai was sold in an open auction in

Pandhana Pandhana is a town and a Nagar Parishad in Khandwa district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Geography Pandhana is located at . It has an average elevation of 249 metres (1145 feet). Demographics As of the 2011 Census of Ind ...

, a sub-division of Khandwa district in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

, in January 2003. The auction was organized by the Maha Panchayat Panchaganga and legitimized by the presence of Hiralal Silawat, Minister of Fisheries, who inaugurated the function. This atrocity was uncovered by journalist Deepak Tiwari and became the cover story of the magazine,

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

Plot

''Devaki'' takes a look at the parallel lives of two young women, belonging to strikingly different backgrounds, who were both betrayed by their fathers and lovers. Devaki (

) is a village girl who is forced into marriage to a 70-year-old man. On the night of the marriage, she is raped by the brother of the impotent old man in order to establish the age-old practice of physical dominance of the male over the female. She develops a relationship with a low-caste runaway boy, but the villagers catch them in the love-making, and they are brought before the Panchayat. Devaki is made to stand holding a heavy stone on her head, the severity of the punishment aimed at setting an example to other women. The villagers and the Panchayat decide to auction Devaki to the highest bidder and pay the money to the 70-year-old husband. Once again, another old man buys her. The life of Nandini (

) is more complicated. In protest against the feudal practices in Devaki's village, Nandini, an urban girl who has come to the village to work as an NGO activist trying to empower the village women through literacy and awareness, quits her job and goes back to the city. Soon, she finds out that, in some respects, urban life is no different from village life. Economically betrayed and physically used by her lover Rahul (

), she feels herself losing self-respect and betrayed and disillusioned by Rahul's treatment of his pregnant wife, Sumana, and the lies he has been telling both women. She forces herself to end the illicit relationship and joins an advertising agency. But she is shocked to find out that her selfish father ( George Baker), who had deserted the family many years ago, owns the agency. He doesn't seem to remember that he left behind a wife who is now in a mental asylum, still awaiting his return, and a daughter whom he doesn't recognize, though she works for him. The ultimate betrayal comes when her father-boss advises her to satisfy his client sexually to clinch a deal and offers her 2% of the profit as a reward. She decides to sell herself to this lecherous old man, avenging her father's betrayal by sacrificing herself. Her vindication comes in the form of his shock when she eventually tells him the truth.

Cast

...Rahul *

....Devaki * Arvin Tucker ... *

...Nandini * Neelanjan Bose.... * George Baker.... Father of Nandini *

Raman Kapoor Raman Kapoor is an Indian singer and songwriter from Gurgaon, India. He was a contestant on the TV shows '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'' and '' Rising Star''. He is known for his songs "Neat Daru", "Do Ghunt Pilade", "Punjabi Song Saiyaan", "Mere Rashke ...

...

Release

*United States -September 2005(

Temecula Valley International Film Festival The Temecula Valley International Film Festival is a film festival held in Temecula Valley, California. Background Launched in September 1995 and held, uninterrupted every September until 2011 (later to relaunch in 2014), the festival proclaims i ...

) *Brazil-23 September 2005 ( Festival do Rio BR) *India- 6 January 2006 *

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

-16 April 2006

Awards

*Best Feature Film Award at the Asheville Film Festival-

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

-U.S.

Music

#Dhuan Dhuan Hain Dhuan – Jojo #Dil Naiyyo Naiyyo – Jojo #Toree Bahiya Mai – Jojo

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0797833, Devaki
www.citwf.com-Devakiwww.gomolo.inwww.telegraphindia.com
2005 films 2005 drama films Indian drama films 2000s Hindi-language films Films scored by Bickram Ghosh Films scored by Amar Haldipur Films directed by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay Hindi-language drama films