Jaadui Machchhi

(Fishy Magic)

FICTION • 38 min • Hindi • 2013 • INDIA

Jyotika and her friends hear a story about a fish that brings happiness wherever it goes and must never be caught. While her friends dismiss it, Jyotika is convinced that it exists and is obsessed with finding the fish before the nets of the contractor do.

While Jyotika carefully prepares for meeting the fish she makes a list of wishes that she wants fulfilled. Meanwhile the contractor continues to entice and pressurize the local fisherfolk with promises of wealth and happiness. A few in the village believe that it may not be as good as it seems.

Tensions rise and when Jyotika’s father brings home a fish he claims to have caught, she realizes that staying true to one’s beliefs is not easy. There comes a time when our convictions are put to test.

Watch the film

A Collaborative Production

The film was made with the residents of Bhilpura, a small basti located on the banks of the river Narmada in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh. All of the cast and much of the crew were from the basti itself.

Other technical and non technical people came from across the country. The process was a collaborative and evolving one where ideas about the script, dialogues, shoot and music were shared before they were finalized and eventually executed. The process was spread over a period of 4 months. The financial resources for the shoot and the post production were met by raising money through individual contributions.