''Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid'' is a 2012

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n film directed by

Nila Madhab Panda Nila Madhab Panda (born 18 October 1973) is an Indian film producer and director. Panda has directed and produced over 70 films, documentaries, and shorts based on social issues, such as climate change, child labor, education, water issues, ...

. Like ''

I Am Kalam ''I Am Kalam'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by the non-governmental charity Smile Foundation and directed by Nila Madhab Panda with cinematography by Mohana Krishna. The character of Chhotu has been performed by Harsh May ...

'' it is also a children's film where Lehar Khan, Krishang Trivedi and Harsh Mayar (who won the

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

for the best child artist in 2010) are on lead as child artists and

Parvin Dabas Parvin Dabas (born 12 July 1974) is an Indian actor, Film director, director and model (person), model, who works predominantly in Hindi and English language films. Early life Parvin Dabas was born on 12 July 1974. His family is from Kanjhawala ...

Tannishtha Chatterjee Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Bollywood, Hindi and English language, English Independent film, independent films. For her performance in the film ''Dekh Indian Circus'', she won the ...

, Rahul Singh,

Suhasini Mulay Suhasini Mulay (born 20 November 1950) is an Indian actress in Assamese, Bollywood and Marathi films as well as television. She won five National Film Awards. Early life and education Suhasini was born in a Marathi-speaking family in Patna w ...

and V.M. Badola are in supporting roles. The movie centres on the issue of

female foeticide Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. As the practice overwhelmingly targets female fetuses, sex-selective abortion often specifically refers to female-selective abortion. ...

and is an adventure film. It was screened at Marche du Cannes film festival. The movie has been nominated at the prestigious

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

(APSA). The sixth APSA ceremony was organised at

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia on 23 November 2012. The movie has been sent to the

Academy of Motion Pictures The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

as a direct entry for the Oscar Awards in the foreign film category. Recently the film received the prestigious Audience Choice Award in Minsk International Film Festival in Belarus, and selected as an official entry for International Film Festival in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in March 2013. The film also won MIP Junior Kids Jury Award at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

in October 2012.

Plot

A well-heeled family from a tiny neighborhood of New Delhi travels from the city through dusty roads that lead into the Madhogarh village, district Mahendragarh in Haryana, far out and buried in the debris of the past. Shreya, the tomboy of the family, finally arrives at her father's village for the first time during her vacations, that too after coaxing her father, Dev, to the best of her abilities. She and her brother, Sam, had, in their imagination, spun the village right out of a fairytale, replete with streams, lakes, and grasslands that would allow them to run free. But all they find are dusty alleys, dried-up ponds, and hostile playmates until they spin their magic and befriend an unknown place, especially some of its people, like the Pehelwan and the gang of kids led by Ajithe. The story revolves around Shreya and Sam's adventures and misadventures, which turn this dull place bereft of water into a land of enchantment, mischief, and a million exciting exploits. But unknown places have many secrets, and here too, secrets lurk at every corner. Strangely behaving villagers, a witch whom everyone seems to be terrified of, and a no-access zone beyond the hills intrigue Shreya, more so after housemaid Shabri tells her various mysterious stories about the village. Then, one night, Shreya sees Shabri and her husband Trilochan slink away and starts following them, only to find out a horrifying secret the village harbors. At the end, they are shocked to know that the village kills girl children before they are born and blames the witch.

Cast

Lehar Khan Lehar Khan is an Indian actress and model who works in Hindi films. She made her debut in 2012 with the film '' Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid'' (2012) in the leading role as a child actor. Since then, she has appeared in notable productions such ...

as Shreya *

as Dev *

Harsh Mayar Harsh Mayar is an Indian actor working in Hindi Bollywood films. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his work in 2011 film '' I Am Kalam''. Career Mayar started his career in 2005 when he was only eight years old. He joi ...

* Krishang Trivedi as Sam *

as Shabri (maid) * Rahul Singh as Veera *

as Dadi * V.M. Badola * Madhulika Sen as School Principal (Cameo)

Release

This film was released on 31 August 2012.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2387495, Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid 2012 films 2010s Hindi-language films 2010s Indian films Films set in India