This film speaks of the oppression and suffering faced by a girl child and woman in India. The setting is in the ghats of Varanasi and there are 4 central characters around which the story revolves. The first is an elderly widow Noor ( Neena Gupta) who leads the life traditionally laid out for her doing puja and penance. Next is young wife of a policeman who is regularly physically abused since she cannot bear him a male child. The third is a transgender Anarkali who is used as a sex slave by the policeman even though she resists strongly. Lastly we have a 9 year old motherless girl also called Noor who is friendly with the widow where she gets a much needed affection. This little girl is a tightrope walker. ( A symbolism there ? ).
Director Vikas Khanna has made a sensitive film focusing on the plight of these women and the scenes are convincing. He is helped by some superb cinematography and the Varanasi ghats are very well captured. The loneliness , hurt, humiliation and helplessness of these characters have been portrayed well. Acting by all is top class. Neena Gupta is superb as usual.
Review of The Last Color
