Dev Bhoomi

Being Uttarakhandi, I connected to this movie deeply. It shows the stigmas of caste & gender discrimination, child marriage, unemployment, etc. And how it impacts the life of village people. Set in the background of Baba Kedar's Kedarnath, it is one of the best cinematic experiences in the landscape of nature.

But, on a broader scale, it is a movie for anyone seeking redemption from this circle of livelihood, children, family, career, success... where it looks as if they have achieved a lot & yet feeling so brittle, so ignorant.. incomplete. It is a genuine story of how one remains connected to the roots, no matter how far one may go.

'Land of the Gods' beautifully captures the struggles & pain of the simple villagers in its purest form.

Directed by a Serbian, it shows the village as it is without any biases. Definitely a must watch. Rarest of the Rare Gem!

Devbhoomi (2016). This is not an epic-poetry seen through the eyes of a pilgrim or a tourist; Talking about the internal truths of Kedarnath region. This movie is a translation of the real life of the inhabitants of Devbhoomi; The usual believable form of the common day life. Seeing the union of Himalayas, Mandakini and infinite sky ... this region is called the meeting place of heaven and earth. The story of becoming a god of small people to the helpless and endangered has got a bright form here.

Another great attraction of this film is the Significant gathering of a bunch of senior actors. Victor has made Goran Pascaljevic's film even more expensive with the grace of his balanced acting.

In this cinematic poem, a renowned Serbian/Balkan director/screenwriter makes movie magic when he tackles the subject of an NRI returning to his homeland, the northern Indian state where the land meets the sky (the country of the gods, Dev Bhoomi). The courage of women and the stubborn traditionality of men, as well as an intractable caste system and the struggle for enlightenment, are depicted with clarity and tenderness. A guruji in a Himalayan ashram prompting his devotee not to judge but rather, to know and love human beings, is typecast with the purity and simplicity of life affirmation. The colors are as vivid and wholesome as the mountain air, and the music is beguiling though unsentimental, unlike the standard syrupy songs by Bollywood. The Uttarakhand Himalayas are oddly evocative, to those of us who are familiar with the Balkans, of the ruggedness of the Balkan mountains. In fact, the two locales seem to be linked by a peculiar sense of familiarity in regards to the terrain as well as the treatment of women and attitude towards tradition. Thus, the film seems imbued with a synergic connection between the Balkans and northern India. Dare I conclude that it is very well possible that Serbia is closer to India than to its next- door Hungary?

The movie touches your mind from the beginning and ends with grabbing your soul . The director exalted the beauty of uttarakhand and displayed it in such a manner . His research work is impeccable. The actors did commendable job. The final scene leaves you with mouth of your soul open to such spiritual cinematic end.

This is an exceptional movie. Can't believe the fact that such an authentic movie on Garhwal is a foreign production " Victor Banerji has once again proved that he is among the greatest actors. His body language, diction are unbelievably Garhwali. The ensemble cast is superb. Gitanjali Thapa and VK Sharma and Shalini Sunderiyal are gems. Hats off to the Serbians for producing this poetry on celluloid.