MAATY MAAY - A Grave - Keeper's Tale
by Chitra Palekar, Fiction, 98', 2006, 35mm, INDIA
With Nandita Das, Atul Kulkarni, Kshitij Gavande

Maati Maay is the tale of a mother who is trapped between her instincts and needs, and the compulsions of her ancestral duty as dictated by the social system. Chandi is a beautiful young woman from a lower caste, whose family has traditionally been in charge of the children’s graveyard. When her father dies, being no other male in the family, Chandi inherits the job and performs it with great pride as her secret duty. After giving birth to her son, Chandi begins to get deeply affected by children’s deaths, wishing to be relieved from her duties. When, she finally gets the courage to rebel, she is punished in the hardest possible way. Years later, her son will try to give her justice by daring to defy the system.

CHITRA PALEKAR
Chitra Palekar studied economics in Mumbai University. She started her career first as a leading actress, and subsequently as a director in avantgarde theatre in Mumbai. She then worked in the cinema industry in various roles : actress, producer, and screenplay writer. Maati Maay is her first feature film as a director.