A debut Indian film, Mahek, by filmmaker K Kanade has been selected by Otterbein College in Ohio, US to be
a part of its curriculum in Integrative Studies Program and Teaching of Modern India. According to the university, Mahek is an introspective Hindi film that sensitively portrays the world of children and their rights. The film, produced by the Children’s Film Society, India, had its world premiere at the prestigious 51st London Film Festival 2007 and has won several awards overseas, including the Best Feature Film (Family) Platinum Remi Award at the prestigious 41st Houston International Film Festival 2008 and the best feature film award at the 10th Arpa International Film Festival in Hollywood. The film had been nominated in Houston for as many as six categories including the best feature film, best director, screenplay, first feature, best foreign film and best family film. It has been screened at several international film festivals including the 32nd Cleveland Film Festival, the Golden Elephant Children Film Festival in Hyderabad, and at festivals in St Louis, Chicago, Frankfurt and Sydney.
Mahek is a young girl’s journey towards self-realization. The film deals with the understanding of children’s talents, their imaginative skills and also their rights in context of present-day India. Eleven-year old Mahek wants to be the best in everything, as she struggles to figure out what she is best at. To complicate things, she encounters a charmless old fairy, who brings her face to face with reality.
Here’s a trailer of the film:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64jom5jTQWk]
