Sonali Kulkarni in Kaccha Limbu

Marathi cinema is often streets ahead of Bollywood, both in content and narrative treatment. Kaccha Limbu, that opened on Friday and starring Sonali Kulkarni, Ravi Jadhav and Sachin Khedekar, with the reputed actor Prasad Oak debuting as director, is another such. It is a powerful and courageous film dealing with the repressed sexual needs of a mentally disabled teenager, as well as those of his parents. In fact, the film deals with maturity and empathy when tackling big taboos, including a mentally challenged son who tries to make love to his mother, and a father who prepares to kill him. It is hard to imagine Bollywood having the courage and sensitivity to even attempt this as a key theme with the same finesse. Also, kudos to the censors for their emotional intelligence, not always in evidence.