icon

synopsis

Malai (Ice-cream)

A low-caste rural boy from interior India goes to attend the local political leader’s son’s wedding, along with his mother and two siblings, excited at the prospect of having a grand meal, especially his favourite ice-cream, referred to as ‘Malai’ in the local tongue. But he instead discovers the dark side of the Great Indian Wedding – a wake-up to the harshness of the society and the saga of discrimination and exploitation of the weak, poor, low-caste, women and even children that continues in the name of tradition in our country even after nearly two decades in the new millennium. Relegated to doing manual labour for little money to entertain the rich and empowered people as they rejoice and celebrate the grand marriage ceremony, the family has to pay too great a price to earn too little – a little boy’s wish for an ice-cream.
Set in the rough rocky terrain of interior Odisha, the film is a tale of a little boy’s loss of innocence and a cinematic protest against the social injustice and inequalities like caste hierarchy, female exploitation and child abuse prevalent in our society and the indifference and hypocrisy of the empowered and educated people towards them.

icon

film details

Name of the Film:
Malai (Ice-cream)
Director:
Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti
Producer:
Anjan Bose
Production Company:
Aurora Film Corporation P. Ltd.
Music:
Avijit Kundu
Writer:
Rajdeep Paul & Sarmistha Maiti
Cinematographer:
Mrinmoy Mondal
Editor:
Sarmistha Maiti & Rajdeep Paul
Audiographer:
Anindit Roy & Adeep Singh Manki
Colorist:
Kaushik Ray
Cast:
Deep Sarkar, Pankaj Mallick, Raakhee Bose
Duration:
14 minutes 40 seconds
Year of Release:
2018
icon

Festival(s) / Award(s)

  • Official Selection in Chicago South Asian Film Festival, 2018
  • Official Selection in IFFSAToronto, 2018
  • Official Selection in Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle, 2018
  • Official Selection in Kolkata International Film Festival, 2018
  • Official Selection in WoodPecker International Film Festival, 2018
  • Official Selection in Indian Panorama, International Film Festival of India, Goa, 2018
  • Official Selection in IDSFFK, 11th International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 2019