''Jal'' () is a 2013 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

set in the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch (alternately spelled as Kuchchh) is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located in Gujarat (primarily the Kutch district), India, and in Sindh, Pakistan. It is divided into t ...

, India, and follows an overconfident

water diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Anastasio ...

Bakka who tries to solve the drought problems in his village, but faces unforeseen circumstances when he tries to help a female

bird watcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

save flamingos. The film is directed by

Girish Malik Girish (also spelled as Gireesh) is a Hindu name which means "lord of the mountain " in Sanskrit ("giri" means rock/mountain and "isha" means shiva). This is a name of Lord Shiva, given because of his abode in the Himalayan Mountains. Girish i ...

and is his debut film as a director. The film was premiered and received special mention at the "New Currents" section of the Busan International Film Festival 2013 and in the "Indian Panorama" section of the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

. The film released in India on 4 April 2014. One World Films has collaborated with

DAR Motion Pictures DAR Motion Pictures (DAR), a wholly owned subsidiary of DAR Capital Group, is an Indian film production and distribution company headquartered out of Mumbai. Known for its focus on content driven cinema, DAR Motion Pictures has worked with a va ...

for the distribution of ''Jal'' in India. The film has received the

National Film Award for Best Special Effects The National Film Award for Best Special Effects is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards ...

for the year 2013 at the 61st National Film Awards. ''Jal'' was also short-listed as an Oscars 2014 contender in the Best Picture Category and the Best Original Score Category. The film advanced in the top 114 films in the Best Original Score Category.

Synopsis

''Jal'' revolves around a young man named Bakka (

Purab Kohli Purab Kohli is an Indian television and film actor, model and former video jockey. Career Television Kohli started his career as an actor with the 1998 television show '' Hip Hip Hurray'' on Zee TV and earned recognition through video jockey ...

), who is gifted with a special ability to find water in the desert. With the backdrop of water scarcity, the film tells a complex story of love, relationships, enmity, deceit and circumstances that bring about the dark side of human character.

Cast

as Bakka * Tannishtha Chatterjee as Kajri *

Kirti Kulhari Kirti Kulhari (born 30 May 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi-language films and series. She made her acting debut with the film '' Khichdi: The Movie'' in 2010 and then starred in ''Shaitan'' in 2011. She then appeared in the films ...

as Kesar * Yashpal Sharma as Ramkhiladi * Mukul Dev as Punya *

Saidah Jules Juliet Glazkova, known by her stage name Saidah Jules, is a Russian actress. She is known for her roles in the Bollywood films '' Pyaar Impossible!'', ''Jal'' and ''Right Yaaa Wrong''. Personal life Jules is from Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ...

as Kim * Ravi Gossain as Rakla * Rahul Singh * Gary Richardson * Rohit Pathak * Bharat Hathi

Music

The music of the film is composed by Sonu Nigam and ace tabla player/percussionist

Bickram Ghosh Bickram Ghosh is an Indian classical tabla player. Early life He started learning tabla from his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, who had played with Ali Akbar Khan. Career Ghosh has performed with Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ghos ...

. This is their first composing collaboration for a Bollywood film. The composer duo recorded the film's title song with

Shubha Mudgal Shubha Mudgal (born 1 January 1959) is an Indian singer of Hindustani classical music. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, dadra, and Indian pop. She has received the Padma Shri in 2000. Early life Shubha was born in Allahabad ...

. The title song used ragas like Marwa and

Puriya Puriya is a major hexatonic raga of Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shast ...

combined with rare musical instruments like the Armenian

Duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

. The entire song was created in a day. ''Jals background score is by Sonu Nigam and

. They used a mix of Indian and International sounds with a lot of percussion. Sonu Nigam and

were nominated in Oscars 2014 long list among top 114 in the Best Original Score Category.

Soundtrack

Critical reception

* ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

'' gave the film 3.5 stars : 'Jal' captures the bare beauty of the golden cracked earth and its tortuous tapestry in artfully mounted frames (cinematography: Sunita Radia). It's a picture-perfect album with stark sights and parched souls. * Taran Adarsh from ''BollywoodHungama'' has rated 3.5/5 Stars and stated "JAL makes a rock-solid impact. It's poignant and powerful and I suggest, you take time out to watch this truly gripping fare" * ''

FilmFare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

'' gave the film 4/5 stars and appreciated the film "Great visuals and premise desiccated by a pedantic pace".

References

External links

*
Jal – Official Trailer
on YouTube {{National Film Award Best Special Effects 2013 films Films scored by Bickram Ghosh Films scored by Sonu Nigam Films about water Films set in Gujarat Water scarcity in fiction Films that won the Best Special Effects National Film Award