Ka Chithi is a film from Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. They are at the early stages of film making. Ka Chithi endorses it while watching. As a budding filmmaker Director Simi Khongtiang is delighted about the film’s entry into festivals. Simi Khongtiang is known as the only female director from Meghalaya.

Ka Chithi is taken well though the film is running on an old track. Darika, the central character is a young girl. She is well brought-up by her grandparents with no dearth of love and care. What she lacks is her mother’s presence. For sure, the posh ambiance of that bungalow masks some past. Darika’s existential quest leads to the introduction of other pivotal characters in Ka Chithi where letters play a huge role. Darika’s solo journey out of her protected self opens up avenues to explore the buried love story of her parents in the past. Darika feels very genuine on-screen.

The film has an emotional flow to engage the audience. The father figure at home reflects the patriarchal evils and how it transforms an adult girl in her thoughts and actions. Breaking the norms was the only option left for Darika’s mother as she knew her father’s political image and family lineage would come in the way of her choices. Maybe Simi is far behind the current pace of Indian cinema but she is very authentic about her milieu.

Ka Chithi invokes a nostalgic mood of sincere love from a non-digital world. Darika’s maturity in dealing with her estranged mother is stark contrast brought in Ka Chithi to depict how fragile human emotions are in blood relations. Darika represents an open hearted young girl who is mindful about every generation gap she confronts but still finds feasible ways to bring her mother back home. In the process, her grandfather, a political figure opens his eyes to see the world in a new light. A gradual transition. All actors gave decent performances in Ka Chithi.

All the best to Simi Khongtiang to put Jaintia cinema on the world map.