Jal

Jal opens with a trigger warning of graphic violence, though there is not a scene of graphic, physical or sexual violence in the film. This decision to exclude the ‘act’, and render it unworthy of representation displays sensitive, ethical artistic intent.

Devoid of any dialogue, it unearths years of silence without uttering a word. It pays an ode to an indomitable spirit that rises despite all attempts to crush her spirit. It is a film about a cruel, ugly moment in a beautiful girl’s life that scars her face, but not her soul, and not her life. In a country that has the third highest number of acid attack cases in the world, for a story to take the turn towards a fairytale is a positive, affirming decision. This turn towards the optimistic, positive side of things could have been inspired by the Deepika Padukone-starrer Chhapaak, but even so, it remains a sensitive film with its own merits.