BETI BACHAO

Directed by: Rajkumar Bhan

With Elsa Zylberstein (Gabrielle) / Benno Fürmann (Paul) / Tannishtha Chatterjee (Madhu)

Coproduction IMAGEPOOL / AVIVA Films. 

Adopted at the age of six by a European couple, Nir returns to India for her 18th birthday. She seeks to meet Madhu, her biological mother, who is serving a life sentence for reasons unknown to anyone.

Through three visits to the prison parlor, the truth finally emerges. Madhu recounts her past: two forced abortions and a third pregnancy threatened by her in-laws upon discovering she was expecting a girl. Betrayed by her own family and rejected by the police, Madhu turned to the goddess Kali to protect her child. In an act of radical justice, she killed her in-laws before surrendering, choosing prison as the only safe haven to bring Nir into the world.

Shattered by this sacrifice, Nir attempts to free her mother. But Madhu refuses; she has found her place behind bars, where she now devotes her life to helping other inmates. Bound by this tragic past, mother and daughter make a promise: never to forget one another again.

SYNOPSIS

Gabrielle and Paul, a French-German couple in their fifties, have adopted a little Indian girl called Nir. For her 18th birthday, they keep a promise made a long time ago: they offer their daughter a journey to India to see Madhu, her biological mother, who is condemned for life in jail.

Unlike Gabrielle, Paul is very hesitant about the experience. He is afraid that it could change their relationship with Nir forever, that they might even lose their daughter. But nothing can stop Nir from wanting to meet her biological mother, and Gabrielle feels the urge to keep her promise.

Reaching India, Gabrielle and Nir prepare to visit Madhu. Both mother and daughter are overwhelmed with emotions. In front of the jail, their lawyer hands over all the necessary documents for their visit. Right before entering the jail, Nir suddenly changes her mind: she decides to go and visit her biological mother alone. Though she knows that it will hurt Gabrielle, Nir leaves her standing outside.

Inside the jail, Nir enters a semi dark visitors’ corridor. She finally finds herself face to face with her biological mother. First, silence communicates between them. Then, both immerse themselves in the memories of their separation.

During her second visit, Nir asks Madhu for the reason for her imprisonment. Madhu explains how her parents-in-law tricked her into aborting twice, for she was pregnant of girls. Nir wants to know more about what exactly had happened, but then the end of the visiting hours is announced. Emotionally disturbed, she has to leave Madhu.

During her third visit, Nir tells Madhu that she went to see the family’s house. Acknowledging how deeply Nir is intrigued to know all about her own and her mother’s past, Madhu finally explains what exactly had happened thirteen years ago.

Back then, Madhu is pregnant. During a check-up, she discovers that she is carrying a girl – Nir. And though her baby is in perfectly good health, the doctor wants to know if she demanded an abortion, because of her baby being a girl, not a boy. Madhu is disturbed by the doctor’s proposition to abort a perfectly healthy girl and leaves.

Without giving it a second thought, Madhu goes home to announce to her husband that they would be having a girl. When his parent’s find out about the “bad news” of her carrying a girl, they react disappointed.

They finally ask Madhu to abort the baby. When she refuses, her parents-in-law decide to kill Madhu.

The moment Madhu finds out about it, she seeks help from her parents, a friend and even from the police. Madhu intends to save her child at any cost… but all in vain. Desperate and after having prayed to the Goddess Kali, worshiped for destroying any evil, Madhu regains her strength. In the middle of the night, she goes to the house of her parents-in-law. Determined, she decapitates them both. Following the crime, Madhu turns herself in to the police.

During her trial, Madhu pleads guilty. Hence, Nir is born in jail.

Having heard the whole story, Nir experiences a heavy emotional stress and faints in the visitors’ corridor. Nir is being hospitalized. Her « two mothers » are extremely worried about their daughter.

Having heard that Nir has been hospitalized, Paul immediately joins them. He also wants to make sure that Nir is coming with them back to France, as he wouldn’t want to lose Nir no mater what.

The moment the time comes to say goodbye to her biological mother, Nir goes to see Madhu for a last time, together with Gabrielle. Nir decides to do everything in her power to free Madhu. But Madhu refuses. To her, the prison is now her world. Having saved and still lost her baby, she had decided to dedicate her life helping the other inmates.

Nir is frustrated and extremely touched. She promisses Madhu that she will be coming back to see her…