Cast: Rachel Saanchita Gupta, Amy Maghera

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Prerna, an adolescent girl residing in a small community in Rajasthan, steps on a skateboard, swaying for balance as she staggers down a short grubby incline, her face burst out with delight and elation. Her contentment has more in it than the plain joy of finding something that makes you happy. What you see is Prerna undergoing her first taste of autonomy. It is her transformational moment. The various aspects of this film that we really like to bring out are those of ritual and defiance, transformation and prospect, but the focus really is on all of the social stress girls face—especially poor girls like Prerna