Review : Panch Kriti Five Elements : Anthology of social issue based stories!

Talking about social issues through cinema is an ideal way to spread the message to a larger section of people. India with it’s diverse traditions and customs, the people in different region react to different things differently. #Director #SanjayBhargv has compiled five social elements in five stories which are interconnected in the end. He has subtly raised the issues through the narratives without being aggressive. Subjects like ecology, empowering girls, gender equality, transgender inclination, killing of female foeticide or pure love etc have been handled tenderly and with simplicity. The five stories are #Khopdi, #Amma, #Suataa, #Chapeta and #Parchhai.

All the stories take place in Chanderi and though each one is different from one another it has interconnection. In the first story a Pandit (Brajendra Kala) is keen on keeping environment clean and takes home a skull to study it’s impact on daily life. But his dominant wife is against it as they are Brahmins. But in the end they find a solution acceptable to both. In the second story a girl Mahi is protected by her dead mother making things worse for her. The third one happens in Bundelkhand, where girls are encouraged to perform Suataa so that they get good husbands. But the protagonist here wants girls to be taught self defence. In the fourth one, boys inclination towards becoming a girl is manifested with a thought about people not allowing girl child to be born resulting in gender inequality. The last story is about pure love wherein the guy protects his love even after his death.

Though the concept is good the the writing should have been stronger. The director too can’t forge ahead the messages very strongly. But the sincerity and simplicity of the narration is noteworthy. The technical departments are okay and could have been better. The music, especially in the last story, is noteworthy. All the actors including Brajendra Kala, are good and support the storytelling.

Panch Kriti Five Elements is a decent watch though the messages are lost in an unfocused narration.

Rating : ***