Godi (2021)

The story of godi revolves around a 16-year-old playful young girl living in the rural Gujarat. This 16-year-old Godavari likes to read and goes cow grazing with his little brother Hitesh. Godavari is raised in a happy family where she plays a lot with her little brother, helps her father with bookkeeping, and helps her mother around the kitchen. While Godavari is still enjoying her childhood, one day her father comes home with a big smile that he couldn't contain on his face. He was excited about something huge, and asks Godavari's mother to serve sweets with the dinner. Confused, baffled; Godavari's mother insists him to reveal the reason for such joy; to which Godavari's father smilingly share the news of Godavari's wedding. He had just in the day finalized the wedding of his 16-year-old girl who probably doesn't even know what a marriage is. That night, when Godavari sits with her father for bookkeeping she notices some unusual entries. She realizes those entries are for the dowry that her father is paying. Godavari is yet to accept that she would go away from her family and is now bewildered as to why would her father have to give away almost everything he has, just in order for Godavari to get married? A marriage that Godavari doesn't even want. Helpless Godavari does get married to a man who is more than double the age she is. Lakhau is a drunk, uneducated adult who goes to the fields to help his father with farming. On the day of their marriage, Godavari's father gives away his everything to Lakhu's family who seemed to be quite greedy to Godavari. Her experiences in this new house were unsettling. She is sexually abused by her husband, mentally tortured by her mother-in-law while father-in-law looks at her and touches her flirtatiously. Godavari cannot understand what is happening with her life at this point but lives with it as time goes by. Godavari's vadsasu is a witness to all these horrendous activities, but can't really do anything about it. One day, it is discovered that Godavari is pregnant and everyone seemed happy. The family celebrates with sweets, while Lakhu goes out to drink with his friends. That night, Lakhu dies and everything changes for Godavari. This unnerving ritual begins the next day, where all the women comes and hit their chests as a sign of grief. Godavari cannot cry, not even a tear. She is observing how everyone who did not know Lakhu are crying copiously despite not knowing him. Pregnant Godavari is forced to cry - by her mother, her friend and is being judged by everyone as a witch who cannot shed a tear for husband. Unable to bear all the irritation around her, she faints. Godavari gets up, observes her surroundings. . .starts walking to never look back.