The Spell of Purple, a non-feature film screened at International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2021, celebrates “courage of women,” said director Prachee Bajania in Goa on Monday.
The film, however, speaks about weariness that sets in after having to constantly struggle with patriarchy. Thousands of women are labelled witches with ulterior motives to grab property or to trouble them and this movie tells the story of the fight of these women against forces of patriarchy in a small field in tribal Gujarat, Prachee Bajania said.
“The movie celebrates courage of women but also speaks about weariness faced by them due to constant harassment… it gives the message that freedom lies in loving,” said Prachee who was joined by director of photography, Rajesh Amara Rajan.
The Spell of Purple was inspired by her travel experience in the forests of Ambu Dumala. The search for a source of 10 seconds folk song that Prachee heard in the forests of Ambi Dumala ended with the film.
The film, which was screened at the Indian Panorama Non-Feature Film section, was originally titled in Gujarati - Khilshe Toh Khara (They will bloom), signifying that women will bloom despite all odds and evil forces against them in the society.
Prachee said that Gujarati cinema which was mostly being screened only in rural centers earlier have now started getting released in urban centres after 2012-13 and is slowly getting popular there too.
Meanwhile, Rajan spoke about his attempt to capture through his lens the male instinct for voyeuristic gaze as portrayed in the film which is produced by FTII/Bhupendra Kainthola.
The film revolves around Inaas, the sole owner of a small field in tribal Gujarat, is the target of envious neighbours who brand her a ‘witch’. Enveloped in fear, she looks for strength in other women – a new mother dealing with loneliness and a young married woman forced to reckon with turmoil of her own. The Mahua forest bears silent witness to their secret conversations, sometimes reaching out through ancient folk songs. The film captures the bone-deep weariness that often lies behind such women’s daily courage.
The cast of the film includes Swati Das, Shraddha Kaul and Vidisha Purohit.
Srujana Adusumalli (Editor), Jikku Joshi (Sound Designer) and Shikha Bisht (Production Designer) also interacted with the media.
