Siya is a tale of courage. It is a film jiske liye shabd kam pad jaye. Jitni tareef karo utna kam hai. It is a very poignant tale that pierces through your heart. Hands down the best film of the year to come out of the Hindi film industry. A very non-judgmental approach to an issue that has been plaguing our country.
Manish Mundra Sir has made it with a lot of concern and empathy. The film portrays the ground reality as it is. It takes us to the grassroots where such issues are prevalent. It is bound to spark off a debate and raise a lot of pertinent questions. We cannot bring about a change unless the issue is addressed from the grassroots. So many cases go unreported. What we get to watch in Siya is just the tip of the iceberg.
The film has a realistic treatment. It is aesthetically made. It strikes a fine balance between being realistic and being artistic. The cinematography and the lighting along with the production design is the highlight. I like the camera movements. The framing, the composition, the colour palette is mind-blowing. Majority of the frames look like paintings. It is reminiscent of Satyajit Ray, Mani Kaul kind of cinema. The creative use of lighting makes it a visual treat. The visuals are evocative without being too grim and gory. It has a very sensitive approach. It doesn’t look down upon the survivor labelling her to be a victim. It has an empowering gaze.
The film is well written. It has a focused narrative and precisely conveys what it has to because of which it doesn’t go overboard with the duration. The message is clear. The drama is not overdone it is there in the situation itself. It is subtle yet impactful. It is emotionally moving. The dialogues are very good and sound authentic. The direction is fantastic. Superb visual storytelling and execution. The shot taking is too good. I like the exposition in the set-up part where Sita is narrating the story to her younger brother. Even the ending is unexpected. You do anticipate the pre-climax incident but still you cannot predict the ending. The film ends just in time when you least expect it. I feel that the ending is the beginning. I like the duration of the film.
Another very striking feature of the film is the sound design. It enhances the realism portrayed by the visuals. The ambience is well created. In fact, the film is riding on a brilliantly done sound design. I like the sound design. There is hardly any background music. There are 2 songs, both are tastefully used at the right place. Both have meaningful lyrics. I loved the use of Kabir’s dohas in one of the songs. They add to the essence of the narrative, giving a poetic touch to it.
It is well edited. The edit pattern has a certain rhythm that keeps you engaged. It is well paced, crisply edited. The performances are awesome. The way Pooja Pandey has pulled off such a challenging role is commendable. She has portrayed the emotions and conveyed the character’s state of mind flawlessly. Vineet Kumar Singh effortlessly gets into the skin of his character. He is superb. He has a strong presence. He puts up a restrained performance. He is the backbone of Siya’s fight for justice.
Siya is a very important film that is a must watch. It is an issue that should affect all of us. We need to be aware of it because if you look at the larger context everything is pretty much similar be it the cities, be it the rural areas. It is a film that gives hope that maybe just maybe there will be a day when things might change and justice will be served to the victims in time with due respect.
