It might be tempting to question a very contemporary tendency of India’s young indie cinema to revive a neorealist vein. For all that, Shivamma did not steal a bicycle. A poor middle-aged and unedu- cated woman, she dreams somewhat ingenuously of a little justice and is seduced by the direct marketing methods of the Nuracle energy drink. She glimpses the hope of improving her precarious day-to-day life. “I will do it!” becomes her creed… we need to believe in something. Somewhat cantankerous and stubborn, Shivamma’s determination soon becomes the sign of her blindness. Refusing to idealise the figure of the poor, Jaishankar Aryar takes Shivamma’s naivety as the starting point of a subtle moral tale, in which the non-professional actors could well be the real protagonists. JB
European Premiere
