Trailer for Parched, which screened at PSIFF.
In this incisive critique of systemic Indian misogyny set in the arid northwestern town of Gujarat, young widow Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee) mortgages her house to pay for her rebellious, self-entitled 17-year-old son’s wedding and finds herself with a new challenge when he rejects his new 15-year-old wife, preferring the company of his buddies. Rani’s best friend, lovely, vivacious Lajjo (Radhika Apte) is routinely beaten by her drunken husband for not giving him a son. Sexy, erotic dancer Bijili (Surveen Chawla), visiting the village with a traveling side show, entertains the village men with her enticing musical numbers yet gets reviled for it. In a place where men call all the shots and keep women doing most of the work, the three friends band together and decide that it is time to break the chains of servitude.