Maya (2001 film)

Plot

12-year-old Maya lives with her aunt Lakshmi, uncle Arun and cousin Sanjay, a typical middle-class family in rural India. The cousins enjoy a playful summer indulging in mischiefs and youthful pranks. But then the young girl has her first period that proves to be a turning point in her life. Maya's family begins making plans for a celebratory feast that involves a ritual rape.

Sanjay (Nikhil Yadav) and his cousin Maya (Nitya Shetty) are carefree village kids. They spend their days creating trouble, as kids will, throwing rocks and stealing sweets. They are gently scolded, but clearly loved, by Sanjay's mother (Mita Vasisht) and father (Anant Nag). Their life is idyllic and warm. But when Maya reaches puberty and has her first period, everything changes in the space of just a few days. The family heads to the neighboring village of Maya's parents to prepare for a mysterious ceremony marking Maya's transition to womanhood. Maya, who only dimly understands what happening to her, is told that she is no longer a child, and discouraged from her familiar play with Sanjay. Sanjay, with even less understanding, chafes against the separation from his playmate and acts out, angering his father. Then, when the day of the ritual arrives, over the terrified protests of Sanjay, Maya is subjected to a trauma of ritual rape in the temple that is truly shocking and horrible.

Cast

Reception

The Film won international acclaim at the major film festivals it participated in. The music score by the America-based duo of Manesh Judge and Noor Lodhi won Critics Mention at the Flanders Film Festival in Belgium. The music also received an award in England and came in third behind John Williams' score for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and Leonardo DiCaprio's Catch me if you Can. The movie was first runners-up in People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, one spot ahead of Mira Nair's well known hit, Monsoon Wedding.