Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid Movie Reviews

It has been decades since India gained freedom, but many Indians are still trapped in longstanding conventional and obsolete traditions, especially gender disparity. India is advancing at a swift tempo in various arenas, but the picture is far from glowing at the grass root level. In fact, it is murky, especially when it comes to how we care for the fairer sex. A number of storytellers are creating movies on issues that were considered unthinkable in times of yore

Even Alice wouldn't be able to brave this wonderland. Of deep mysteries, shattering myths, daayans, horrifying beliefs, dusty roads, parched lands and dried ponds. But our desi Alice, Shreya (Lehar Khan) is all set to encounter her fairy-tale dream, albeit in India's hinterlands. Shreya, with her kid-bro Sam (Krishang Trivedi), land in their father, Dev's ( Pravin Dabas) village for the first time, unaware that their adventures and misadventures will change the fate of a village

‘Jalpari’ is a little gem, with a message on female foeticide that is so critical, and a heart so large that the narration could easily have been submerged in the social statement.

Dive into this adventure, you’ll find mermaids and much more.

In spite of its flaws, of which there are many, Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid wins your heart with its simple fluid storytelling and characters who seem to have taken birth in the deserted village in Haryana, long before the camera was switched on. There is a fascinating play of light and shade in Deepak Venkateshan's screenplay. It manfully tries to incorporate several genres and perhaps ends up being neither here nor there