User Reviews

'Jogwa' literarily means alms – begging in the name Goddess Yellama. The film attempts to explore the wretched inhuman practices of the Goddess Yellama cult that were prevalent since long in southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh. The children with an incomprehensible disease or deformities were sacrificed supposedly to serve Goddess Yellama but were sexually exploited by the villagers in reality. The film succeeds in exploring this heinous practice to some extent but does so too loudly lacking the finesse of an earlier film 'Giddh' (1984) that told the story on the same subject with stark realism without pulling any punches.

Young girl Sulie (Mukta Barve)finds having a knot (Jat) in her hair while another young man, Tayappa(Upendra Limaye), passes traces of blood in his urine. The only remedy available, according to the prevailing traditions, was to sacrifice them in the service of Goddess Yalamma. They must bow down to tradition, much against their wish, and live on begging for food. They must not get married and the boy must live like a girl draping a sari for the rest of his life. They are invited to perform cult's devotional songs and dance in praise of the Goddess on auspicious occasions but,at the same time, they must allow their bodies for sexual gratifications of the villagers as sex slaves. The film goes on to show their love for each other and scuffle against this deplorable tradition.

I think despite its strong theme, the narrative losses its grip on several occasions because of excessive melodramatic situations and loud presentation. The music is extremely melodious and aptly deserves the National Award but it's not at all befitting to the basic theme and darker mood of the film. The same is true of the cinematography. The gimmicks of threading in "Roja' like song and takes at breathtaking locations may be eye pleasing and entertaining but they don't go in tune with the basic theme and, at times, paralyses audience's involvement. It's somewhat like hanging a chandler in the middle of a slum. Incidentally, that reminds me of the funny tricks I.S.Johar used to play in his old films like 'Bewkoof' wherein action clips from Hollywood movies were roped in his movies just to boost the poor production. Realistically, the dark theme of "Jogwa', needed a different pace & underlying music that was more culturally oriented. But these lapses must be excused if one wants viewers to come to theatre and watch the movie.

So, to sum up, the bold theme, top notch performance by all the actors (with Upendra Limaye excelling and richly deserving the National Award) and melodious musical score by Ajay-Atul (though somewhat incongruous to the basic theme) are the only saving grace for this film.

I give it 5 out of 10.