Set in a beautiful hillside village in the North of India, "Hansa" follows the story of Hansa and his older sister Chikoo. The two children have serious family problems: their father has mysteriously disappeared, their mother is pregnant and due to their unpaid heavy loans, their home and land are going to be confiscated. Chikoo is forced to grow up quickly and she takes it upon herself to find their father. All along she is subjected to the hardships and injustices of life as a woman. Hansa, by contrast, as a male has the good fortune of being more ignorant of what is happening around him. His main worries are the ones purely of an innocent and mischievous child. With all the difficulties of their life, the film gives high relevance to Hansa's childhood: getting into trouble, hiding sweets and the value he gives to a ball and to a 5 rupees coin.
What I really liked about the film was the its reflection of the sad reality of life: the girl is forced to take responsibility and to handle problems, whereas the boy is given the time to be a child and has little or no pressure from the grown-up world. Is Hansa mean and selfish? No, he's simply blissfully unaware of all the struggles his sister is facing. The two get along and look after each other. They both, to various extents, cope with their family problems and try to help in their own way. It is the adult world that places them in society according to their gender. It's society that allows free will to the boy and lets him live his childhood, which is denied to the girl, who has to submit to society's pressures. Hansa is left to deal with small trifling matters, but Chikoo has the weight of her family on her shoulders.
The title itself suggests the central role of the boy in the film. The fact that it isn't called "Chikoo" is a representation of the privilege of being a boy in society, with the right to have a childhood, whereas a girl is expected to sacrifice herself and to heavily depend on men for her survival.
Hansa could have tried to be more mature and responsible. It's eye rolling the fact that even at the end, with his sister missing and the workers waiting for the mother to give birth before evacuating the house, his thoughts are still upon the ball and the 5 rupees coin.
At first the ending leaves the viewer hopeful, but then it leaves you wondering if there actually is reason to be or if their lives will be a continuation of the unfair differences between male and female. Throughout the film the contrast between their behaviour is clear: on one hand there's carefree Hansa and on the other there's scared and mistreated Chikoo desperately looking for answers in a male dominated world. It's as if many people were disposable characters: will Chikoo be alright? Does the mother die in childbirth? The death of the village idiot is also considered unimportant, probably because he cannot be considered a real man.
It's a very interesting film about real life problems seen through the eyes of children who have to fend for themselves. It gives you a lot to think about and I personally realized this when the film ended. There are strong messages woven and subtly placed in the film. This is my interpretation of the film, I'm sure there could be many others.
I'm very surprised that the film isn't more popular, the story is good and the kids were fantastic.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
What I really liked about the film was the its reflection of the sad reality of life: the girl is forced to take responsibility and to handle problems, whereas the boy is given the time to be a child and has little or no pressure from the grown-up world. Is Hansa mean and selfish? No, he's simply blissfully unaware of all the struggles his sister is facing. The two get along and look after each other. They both, to various extents, cope with their family problems and try to help in their own way. It is the adult world that places them in society according to their gender. It's society that allows free will to the boy and lets him live his childhood, which is denied to the girl, who has to submit to society's pressures. Hansa is left to deal with small trifling matters, but Chikoo has the weight of her family on her shoulders.
The title itself suggests the central role of the boy in the film. The fact that it isn't called "Chikoo" is a representation of the privilege of being a boy in society, with the right to have a childhood, whereas a girl is expected to sacrifice herself and to heavily depend on men for her survival.
Hansa could have tried to be more mature and responsible. It's eye rolling the fact that even at the end, with his sister missing and the workers waiting for the mother to give birth before evacuating the house, his thoughts are still upon the ball and the 5 rupees coin.
At first the ending leaves the viewer hopeful, but then it leaves you wondering if there actually is reason to be or if their lives will be a continuation of the unfair differences between male and female. Throughout the film the contrast between their behaviour is clear: on one hand there's carefree Hansa and on the other there's scared and mistreated Chikoo desperately looking for answers in a male dominated world. It's as if many people were disposable characters: will Chikoo be alright? Does the mother die in childbirth? The death of the village idiot is also considered unimportant, probably because he cannot be considered a real man.
It's a very interesting film about real life problems seen through the eyes of children who have to fend for themselves. It gives you a lot to think about and I personally realized this when the film ended. There are strong messages woven and subtly placed in the film. This is my interpretation of the film, I'm sure there could be many others.
I'm very surprised that the film isn't more popular, the story is good and the kids were fantastic.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
