Sanabi

The film SANABI (The Pony) draws us into the lives of ordinary people in a remote village in Manipur. The village is at some distance from the capital city of Imphal. The main characters are a petty cattle thief (Mangi), a divorcée woman Sakhi who works in the State Dance academy whom Mangi loves, and the family of Sakhi including her father who owns 'Sanabi', a pure-bred Meitei pony – a rarity nowadays in Manipur which has a rich tradition of playing polo since time immemorial, and in one sequence, Sakhi's father claims that 'Polo' is Manipur's gift to the world … Sanabi gets stolen and this makes Sakhi's father heart-broken – he used to love and care for the pony like his own child. Will Sanabi return to her master? Watch this beautiful film from North-East India to find out. Love, Jealously, Loyalty, Kindness, Misunderstandings intermingle in the storyline and succeed in etching the characters in grey especially of Mangi, rather than in black and white. The camera-work and editing is of International class. The film is directed by Aribam Syam Sharma, and based on a story by Binodini Devi. Rating: 4 out of 5