Vanaja (2007)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 14
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 1,777
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Movie Info
With the haunting adolescent drama Vanaja, Indian writer-director Rajnesh Domalpalli rewrites the oft-told tale of a young girl's journey into womanhood, by filtering its parameters through an indigenous Indian cultural lens and the concept of the caste system. The picture's title character is a fifteen-year-old girl living and coming of age in a seaside village in India. Vanaja's heart longs to enter the household of Rama Devi, under whose tutelage she can master the South Indian narrative
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All Critics (30) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (6) | DVD (2)
Bhukya delivers an entrancing and natural performance, deftly balancing both the wide-eyed childishness of a young girl with the dawning awareness of life's darker possibilities.
Top CriticVanaja is a timeless story of dignity maintained against all odds.
This is heart-wrenching Indian drama in the vein of Deepa Mehta's recent Water, again dealing with a young girl trying to find her self-worth in the midst of a repressive caste system and physical abuse.
It's not easy to make a very sad movie that doesn't make you want to jump out a window when it's over. Vanaja pulls this off.
Vanaja, a beautiful and heart-touching film from India, represents a miracle of casting. Every role, including the challenging central role of a low-caste 14-year-old girl, is cast perfectly and played flawlessly.
Rajnesh Domalpalli made this poignant 2006 drama as his thesis film for a master's degree at Columbia University, yet its technique and development of character and theme are far more accomplished than those of most student films.
A wondrous piece of filmmaking and a sensitive, engaging movie from a first-time filmmaker working on a shoestring budget with a cast of nonactors.
[S]tunning both visually and emotionally, impressive as a first film and surely a harbinger of great things to come from Domalpalli...
There's loads of atmosphere and charm to this tale, but little that seems compelling or heartfelt to the drama, which in contrast feels sketchy and contrived, without a clear sense of character beyond conceptualized stick figures.
There's loads of atmosphere and charm to this tale, but little that seems compelling or heartfelt to the drama, which in contrast feels sketchy and contrived, without a clear sense of character beyond conceptualized stick figures.
Stunning portrait of caste oppression in South India, as well as the struggle of a young woman from the lower caste's to elevate herself through dance.
[The film] shows, through Bhukya's heartbreaking performance, the difficulties faced by those trying to bust through the layers of class oppression.
A large chunk of the film's success rests on the shoulders of its young star, Mamatha Bhukya.
Blandly executed social drama of caste and social power.
Written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli as his graduate thesis at Columbia University, Vanaja is an engaging and shocking look at class, gender roles and sexuality in rural India.
Audience Reviews for Vanaja
Super Reviewer
Mamatha Bhukya, Urmila Dammannagari, Karan Singh, and Ramachandriah Marikanti stars. Worthy!
Super Reviewer
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