Fight for happiness: Three women are looking for freedom in the metropolis of Mumbai!

Fight for happiness: Three women are looking for freedom in the metropolis of Mumbai!

The Indian metropolis Mumbai, known for her hectic way of life and the rigid social structures, serves as a backdrop for the moving drama "All We Imagine as Light", which was staged by the talented director Payal Kapadia. The Film tells the stories of three women, Prabha, Anu and Parvati, who work in a hospital as nurses and cooks and fight with personal challenges. Prabha (Kani Kusruti) faces the painful reality - her husband, who disappeared to Germany after an arranged wedding, broke off. Anu (Divya Prabha), who leads a forbidden love for a Muslim, must keep her relationship secret in a conservative society. These stories develop against the background of longing for a better life in a city that often offers more illusions than real chances, such as NZZ.CH reported.

conflicts and challenges

The critical perspective on life in Mumbai is illuminated by both the strenuous working conditions and the social norms that the women narrow. Parvati, the older cook (Chhaya Kadam), also threatens to lose her apartment because the building is supposed to give way to a new skyscraper. Kapadia impressively shows the interaction of life realities and dreams that attract millions of people to the city - a central topic in the film that is also embodied by the main characters. Due to the poetic staging and documentary aesthetics, the film reveals the unadorned everyday life in Mumbai, deliberately accompanied by jazz sounds. This unique film aesthetics ensured that "All We Imagine as Light" received the Grand Prix of the jury at this year's film festival in Cannes, which underlines international recognition for the creative power of Indian directors, as krone.at

Despite the international success, the film faces critical voices in India, which find it too little "Indian". Kapadia, who questions what "Indian" really means, vehemently contradicts this view. Your film uses several Indian languages ​​with Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam and thus reflects the city's cultural diversity. The strength of the film is the representation of female solidarity and the search for identity and happiness in the urban chaos of Mumbai, a topic that is both locally and globally. The status of Mumbai as the city of dreams thus becomes a mirror for the hopes and challenges of its residents.