I watched this movie because I am a fan of Nadita Das. This is the second movie that I have seen where she played a victim of rape. I find rape to be a very dehumanizing occurence, carried out by men who lack morals and courage. I marvel at her ability to play the part of a victim of rape, and still retain her dignity. After all rape is designed to separate a women from righteousness to degradation. No women should have to experience rape, but if it happens, it is a story that needs to be depicted. The harsh reality in Bawandar is that it is a story based upon truth. Rape became the tool of impotent men with a desire to dominate by force. Nandita Das plays the part of Saavri, a women weakened by the assault, but strengthed in her resolve to get justice. I felt so much pain in my heart for the suffering of this women, with few resources, and little or no chance of receiving justice in a society that still classifies on the basis of caste. Rape, it appears is the fault of the women, not of her perpetrators, and the insensitivity displayed by the other women is distressing. How can you not feel the pain of one who has been brutalized in this manner? This movie is an example of the problems that exist in a society where the women are uneducated, and the men who rule, are simply not qualified to excercise power. In their desire to dominate by any means necessary and make submissive those who have no recourse physically, and in this case not even legally, they also represent a need to educate, both men and women about the basic right of the individual to exist without the threat of violence.