Virgin Goat

Director Murali Nair’s VIrgin Goat is a whimsical tale set in rural India. The story centres on Kalyan Singh, a farmer who has sold most of his land and livestock to pay for his daughter’s wedding. Despite his sacrifice, Kalyan’s resentful wife offers no sympathy, and his lazy son has no time for him either. He is desperate for her to breed, and so, when at last she seems to be in heat, he sets off for a farm where she will be mated with a pedigree billy goat. As luck would have it, Kalyan’s expedition is disrupted by the imminent arrival of a mysterious VIP, for whom the police have set up roadblocks in every direction. Undeterred, Kalyan takes a circuitous route to the farm. On the way, reality and fantasy start to blur, as his world is turned upside down through a series of strange encounters with an array of bizarre and colourful characters – eccentric villagers, paranoid security officers and unlikely revolutionaries – who threaten to derail his precious mission. This independent production, also starring Sheila Naidu, Saurab Gharipurikar, Purnima Maudgil, Archana Phadke and Chira Maudgil, is a surreal and enigmatic tale, far removed from the typical Bollywood fare. Nair has had previous international cinematic success, winning the Caméra d’Or at Cannes 1999 for his film Throne of Death, the tale of a farmer falsely accused of murder.