#a match

A Match

Justin Liam O'Brien

I wish my scheduling had permitted me to watch more than one Marathi film this year, but the one I did watch was very good!

It was called स्थळ [sthaḷ] ("A Match"), and it was directed by Jayant Digambar Somalkar.

The film is set in rural Maharashtra - specifically in the region known as Vidarbha. The Wandhares, a family of cotton farmers, are desperately trying to marry off their daughter Savita, who, apart from being uninterested in arranged marriage, has a desire to study sociology and enter the civil services.

I found that the film arrayed a variety of emotions, starting off light and humorous and gradually deepening in its seriousness.

The core focus of the film is the rigidity of oppressive, patriarchal social structures in rural India and how impossible it is for individuals - both those rebellious and those complicit - to break free.

I really enjoyed the performances in the film, especially lead actor Savita Chikte, who I thought was effortlessly charming. I think the film is a 3.5/5 overall, so I really liked it and I would recommend it as one of the better Marathi films to watch!

Of special note is the authenticity of the language used in the film, which is the Vidarbha dialect of Marathi. The director is himself from this region, and so he sought to capture the language as well.

I was too engrossed to make notes on the dialect, but I noticed an increased smattering of Hindustani words, and also the use of राहणे [rāhṇe] (to stay) as a copula. For instance, the Marathi phrase "What have you done?", हे काय केले? [he kāy kele], may be rendered as हे काय करून राहिले [he kāy karūn rāhile].