Jal
04/Apr/2014

2.50

mainstream cinema peddles nonsense, this is a step in the other direction

Jal is about the acute water crisis in arid Kutch, and the administrational apathy towards its inhabitants. The film, then, could have made for powerful satire, or a moving story of human suffering. It tries to be the latter, but is riddled with so many flaws � of structure, editing and direction � ...(more)

Source: Sarit Ray,, Hindustan Times

4.00

Jal is a work of remarkable resonance

It's a never-before experience. Tapestried and tempestuous, the tides of Girish Malik's narrative rise and swell like the frequent sandstorms in the desertscape that Sunita Radia's camera captures so evocatively in this saga of raging ragas. There is more than just a little bit of Shakespeare in ...(more)

Source: Subhash K Jha,, IANS

1.00

Plot is overcooked, spilling over with too many threads

The film is well shot but ends up looking like an advert for Kutchhi landscapes and costumes. The plot is overcooked, spilling over with too many threads. There�s Bakka and his romance with a �dusman gaon wali gori� Kesar ( Kulhari), who is lusted after by a local Romeo ( Dev). There�s the thwarted ...(more)

Source: Shubhra Gupta , Indian Express

0.50

Jal is a bore

Girish Malik's directorial debut surely has a good heart but it forgets that subtle difference between a PowerPoint presentation and a film, as it documents survival in the water-scarce Rann of Kutch. Bakka (Purab Kohli), a young man who calls himself the God of Water, is a water diviner who is i...(more)

Source: Paloma Sharma., Rediff.com

3.50

Jal is a little more than dry and barren

Girish Malik's film 'Jal' tells the story of a dry land, and an attempt to get water back to it. But here in the Great Rann of Kutch water's not the only thing being scoped out. It's a story of people and how their lives are weaved together. Watch the movie if such 'experimental' movies interest you...(more)

Source: Shubhra Dwivedi, India Today