Jaya Ganga

Running time: N/A

Depicting a tale of evocative beauty and love, Jaya Ganga captures the viewer's imagination with magical, vivid characters and the picturesque landscape of India. Already a popular novel, author Vijay Singh takes his 1989 book to film as director, thirty years after his inspirational trip down the Ganges River and the emotions its magnificence had stirred in him. Nishant is in love with two women; the mysterious Jaya who believes herself to be living two separate lives and the beautiful prostitute and dancer Zehra who he meets during his solo excursion down the Ganges. His memories of Jaya stirred by Zehra, Nishant asks Zehra to join him on his journey, but her freedom is overshadowed by a network of brothel spies. Eventually, Zehra flees with Nishant, but the journey holds much more in store than either imagine, and the fate of both women hangs in the balance. There is a rare breed of film directors who are novelists and even fewer who direct there own stories. Singh, however, knows exactly how to translate his text to moving image, and unlike many, he does not shy from his role as a storyteller. It is through poeticism and an acute understanding of character which allows Jaya Ganga to ascend above other motion pictures. --Mike Rabehl