Synopsis for the Film

Nubile water nymphs tease and frolic in the idyll of the royal pond, plucking full-bloomed lotuses, splashing the glorious water, singing mischievous songs of love, longing and beauty until the handsome king strides forward, head- to- toe in regal gait and a gun in hand. The nymphs magically transform into ducks and the king raises his gun to make a kill. The year is 1947 and the cinemascope wonder you are witnessing is P.L. Santosh’s Shehnai featuring the classic soundtrack by C. Ramchandran. The location of this cavorting is the long forgotten Poinsar river, which once provided the backdrop for so many irrepressibly romantic and fantastic stories for India’s dream merchants. Now, 60 years later, it is largely forgotten and only referred to in local parlance as ‘nullah’. Amrit Gangar’s Kandivli: A River Saga points out with irony at how in little more than 60 years of independence, the glitz has faded and the river of dreams lies hopelessly woebegone and lost.

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