Let's start at the surface. At first look 'Maati Maay' seems to be a simple story. A village is horrified by a cannibalistic ghoul (Nandita Das). The villagers do all in their power to keep their children away from her. Isolated, the ghoul finds no company, no sympathy. Until one day she bumps into Bhagirath (Kshitij Gavande), a sharp school kid innocently strolling around the village. Bhagirath fortunately is accompanied by his father, Narsu (Atul Kulkarni), who shields him from her evil hexes. Narsu shoos the evil lady away. Intrigued, Bhagirath asks his father how the woman got herself into such a predicament. Narsu's answer unfolds as a dark and dreamlike journey that reveals his connection with this ghoul.
The story telling (at least for the first part of the movie) is fast and crisp. Chilling, yet at places touching. It's only after we're well into the movie that things start to lose pace. The imagery is strictly OK, although the use of reflections in some places is faulty.
It is uncertain whether this film was intended to be more of realistic cinema or dramatic or probably maintain a balance of both. There are scenes that scare you and others that just keep dragging on. The background chorus meant to enhance the emotion works only for some moments before it becomes a revealer. The score gets sour too.
Towards the end one questions the characters. Especially Chandi. For when she lost her ancestral occupation the defeat of pride is devoted just a few minutes, the film rather delves into casteism, superstition, post pregnancy pains (although necessary for the story) and there's a slight, and totally unnecessary, mention of corrupt bureaucracy. The transition of our leading lady's from the clever, modern minded village woman to an outcaste is rather uncomfortably short.
Finally one leaves the cinema wondering if the whole story was just a metaphor taken too seriously. And even wishing that it was.
