What It’s About:
Prabha (Kusruti) and Anu (Prabha) work as nurses in bustling Mumbai, sharing a small flat. Prabha carries an air of sadness, since her husband from an arranged marriage moved to Germany and broke off contact. Meanwhile the younger, impulsive Anu, like Prabha a Hindu, has a secret Muslim boyfriend, Shiaz (Haroon). Purvaty (Kadam) is the older widowed cook at the hospital where they all work, who’s fighting eviction. Will these women each find their way in this anonymous, teeming city?
Why We Love It:
Director Kapadia’s first narrative feature is a subtle, lyrical meditation on the lives of three unattached women in modern-day Mumbai. Formerly a documentarian, Kapadia evokes the myriad sights and sounds of this chaotic metropolis, where countless people commute each day to eke out a living. Prabha’s wistful longing surfaces when she receives a mysterious gift from Germany, presumably from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, Anu’s forbidden romance with Shiaz is heartfelt but hardly sustainable. Finally, the feisty but powerless Purvaty must decide whether to leave the place she and her late husband called home. This touching, miraculous film invests us deeply in the plight of all three characters. “Light” is penetrating human drama at its finest.