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Makdee
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'Makdee'

By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Chunni and Munni are two twin sisters living in a village where all is peaceful. Being a look-alike of her twin, Chunni (Shweta) is in the habit of impersonating as Munni to fool the villagers.

In the same village is a mansion which the villagers believe is frequented by a vile witch called Makdee (Shabana Azmi). The legend has it that the witch transmogrifies anyone who ventures into the mansion into an animal form. The village schoolteacher scoffs this legend as a mere superstition of the villagers.

One

day Chunni lets loose the hens of the village butcher Kallu (Makrand Deshpande) who sets out to ‘straighten’ the notorious girl. An infuriated Kallu chases Chunni and is able to corner her at last. That’s when Chunni plays her customary trick. She impersonates as Munni and redirects the butcher to chase Munni instead.

A confused Kallu sets out in Munni’s direction. Seeing the village butcher coming for her a terrified Munni runs into the village mansion haunted by Makdee.

When Chunni comes to know that her sister has gone into the mansion feared by all and sundry, she runs from house to house to seek help but no one believes her owing to her continuous habit of lying. Ultimately, Chunni musters the courage to go into the mansion all by herself.

Once inside, Chunni is confronted by the haunting scene inside – spider webs, dark passages and gory creatures creeping about the place. She almost faints when she confronts the witch Makdee. But it is already too late. The wicked witch has transformed Munni into a hen.

Chunni pleads Makdee to let her sister go. Ultimately the witch relents and strikes a deal with Chunni. Chunni must get her a 100 hens in return for her sister.

Having no other choice, Chunni is now faced with the biggest challenge of her life - 100 hens for the witch, in return for her sister, without the villagers ever getting to know of it.

Does Chunni succeed in getting Munni safely back from the clutches of Makdee?

The film, directed by music composer-turned-director Vishal Bhardwaj, has yet another stellar performance by the National Award winning actress Shabana Azmi.

But the one to walk away with all the plaudits is the chit of a girl Shweta who plays the central characters of Chunni and Munni with aplomb. Although a child artist, Shweta does not even once blanche in front of the talented performers like Shabana Azmi and Makrand Deshpande.

In a nutshell ‘Makdee’ is a gritty horror thriller that is likely to send a chill down the spine of many a young viewers. The film has won the second prize at the recently held Chicago International Children’s film festival.

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