How Long Is “Duvidha”?

(1973) The second of two films by Mani Kaul in Channel 4's season of Indian films, Duvidha was remade as Paheli , a big budget Bollywood movie in 2005. Filled with layers of subtext and metaphor, Duvidha is, on the surface, about a ghost who falls in love with a new bride. When he sees that her husband is going away on business for five years the very day after their marriage, the ghost assumes the husband's form and takes his place by the bride's side. Though he confesses his deception to her, she does not reveal their secret. When she gives birth to their child, her real husband returns to see how she could have managed such a feat without him. Told through sparse dialogue, simple narration and many pensive silences, Duvidha challenges the viewer to engage with the characters, their conflicts and their world. Set in the desert of Rajasthan and amid the white-washed walls of the husband's family home, Duvidha is beautifully composed, using the colour of women's sarees and men's turbans to great effect. In Hindi with English subtitles. Premiere.