Disha tells a never-ending story – a story of rural exodus and the mirage of the big city, of hopes and disillusionments, through the destinies of migrant farm workers searching for a better life in Mumbai. Sai Paranjpye, one of the first women directors to earn recognition (with Sparsh in 1980), has long focused on this distressing theme, which she approaches realistically but without miserabilism, by remaining close to the desires of her characters. Through the comings and goings between city and countryside, the film lends a palpable dimension to the harsh materiality facing those aspiring to happiness: the dry land, the deafening textile mills, the overcrowded sleeping quarters, a well obstinately dug in the hope of perhaps seeing a lucky find of water gush forth. AR
Unreleased in France
