As a child, I spent hours pouring over any book of folk tales or fairy tales that I could get my hands on. Imagine my delight as I stumbled upon the movie Paheli on Netflix! It is an Indian folk tale that has fantasy, puppets, and a beautiful romance story. I changed my usual format for these reviews a little; it’s a mix of a review and reasons to watch.

Synopsis:

(Google) – Kishanlal marries the beautiful Lachchi, but the day after the wedding, he leaves on business for five years. When Kishanlal reappears only a few days later, Lachchi is delighted, but this new Kishanlal is in fact a spirit who has taken the form of Lachchi’s husband, after having seen her by chance and fallen in love with her. Four years later, the real Kishanlal returns and the townsfolk must determine who is who.

Plot:

A beautiful bride is excited about her wedding. Her husband comes from a good family, and he is very handsome. Everyone seems to adore her, except her husband. As they stop at a rest stop on the way to their new home, a ghost watches the interactions between the two. The ghost sees the beauty and sweetness of the new bride and is confused as to why she is so sad. When the bridegroom stops back at the rest stop on his way out of town only a day later, the ghost decides to step into the bridegroom’s life. Everyone in the family is confused but delighted that he has returned. This new bridegroom treats his wife as a treasure, and he’s returned with riches. His father sent him away to make a fortune, so the ghost bridegroom says he was blessed and he will get a gold coin every day. Since his son is giving him a gold coin every day, the father doesn’t ask a lot of questions. When his bride becomes pregnant, the real bridegroom (who has been gone for four years) returns home. How will the family decide who the true bridegroom is?

Reasons to Watch

Lachchi – A young bride who has the kindest heart, she is ready to love her new husband and be the best wife possible. When he rejects her, she is confused and heartbroken. She is afraid to end up in a loveless marriage where she is left alone and forgotten. A woman who has been rejected by her husband does not have a lot of options in life. Because she is basically abandoned by her husband and she has a family member whose husband left her years ago, this story has a modern feel as the women try to navigate what to do with their lives without a husband.

Kishanlal (Real) – a distracted young bridegroom whose father is more focused on his son bringing him financial success than a new bride. He isn’t not interested in his new bride, it’s just he is focused on making his father proud of him. He’s not a bad person; he’s just intimidated by his father. He doesn’t actually want to leave Lachchi, but his father says that marriage is a distraction and he needs to go make a fortune. So he is living away from his family and he wasn’t allowed to take his wife, so he’s isolated too.

Kishanlal (Ghost) – we meet the ghost as a spirit puppet hanging on a tree. He is a free spirit who longs for true love. When he sees Kishanlal at the rest stop, he decides to take over Kishanlal’s life since he doesn’t seem to appreciate it. His love of life, and love of his new wife, make this show so entertaining to watch. He knows a day of reckoning will come, but he hopes that love will overcome.

Should you watch?

Yes! It’s a fun story narrated by puppets and it has that fairy tale/folk tale feel that keeps it interesting. There is a big focus on love and family and how if you have love and family you are rich. It’s highly entertaining and you want all the characters to be happy. As expected of an Indian movie, the songs and dances are fun and catchy. Y’all know how much I love when they break out into singing and dancing!

Until the next song and dance,

Clkytta

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi