Dnya Film's ‘Maati Maay’(A Grave-keeper's Tale), produced, written and directed by Chitra Palekar, will be premiered at the forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival on September 8.

Based on a short story ‘Baayen’ by Mahasweta Devi, ‘Maati Maay’ (in Marathi) is the saga of Chandi, a beautiful young woman from a lower caste, whose family has traditionally been in charge of a children's graveyard. When her father dies, there being no other male in the family, Chandi inherits the job and performs it with great pride as her sacred duty. But after she gives birth to her son Bhagirath, things start to change. Being a nursing mother, Chandi now begins to get deeply affected by children's deaths. The film is the heart-rending tale of a young mother who is trapped between her instincts and needs, and the compulsions of her ancestral duty as dictated by the social system.

Nandita Das plays Chandi and Atul Kulkarni is Narsu, her husband. Kshitij Gavande plays Bhagirath, their son. Cinematography by Debu Deodhar and music by Bhaskar Chandavarkar are other major credits.                                                                               

Chitra Palekar, a post-graduate in Economics, began her artistic career in the mid '60s through ‘avant-garde’ theatre in Mumbai. She was a lead actor in both Hindi and Marathi plays and won several State Awards.

She turned to cinema in the early '80s. Her first feature film as a producer/lead actor  was ‘Aakriet’ (1981, Marathi), which won a Special Jury Award at the Three Continents' Film Festival in Nantes, France and  was an international success. In India, the film won four State Awards and was selected for the prestigious Indian Panorama.