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Title
Mrityudand
Cast Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi, Ayub Khan, Shilpa Shirodkar, Mohan
Joshi, Mohan Agashe, Om Puri
Director Prakash Jha
Genre Drama
Year 1998
Oppression of women is the theme of this bold and fearless film about three
feisty women who lash back at the men who oppress them and ultimately against
the system that supports such oppression. A newly wed bride (Madhuri Dixit)
slowly begins to discover the undercurrents that lie beneath the apparent
calmness of the household she has married into. Her husband’s brother is
obsessed with religion and lives a celibate life while his beautiful wife
languishes in frustration. A young village girl (Shilpa Shirodkar) whose husband
owes the family some money, is forced into prostitution to survive. The bride’s
own husband (Ayub Khan) is an insensitive brute who does not care about her
feelings and is only interested in the physical aspect of marriage. When the
sister-in-law finds solace in the arms of the hired help (Om Puri), the feudal
lawmakers in the village sentence the lovers to death. The bride slowly begins
to rebel and teach the other two women to fight back too…. This powerful film is
directed by Prakash Jha and depicts a facet of India that few believe even
exists – the feudal, medieval values and the contempt for women.
   
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