“Yadvi – The Dignified Princess,” the story of a real-life Indian princess, will be screened in New York City’s Cinema Village for the week June 1-7, producers of the movie announced here. India’s Consul General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty will be the chief guest at the first day of screening, according to a press release. Prior to arriving in New York, the film will screen for a week in Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills, CA, from May 25-31.
How does a real life princess raised in one of the wealthiest families of the world end up losing all such privileges in her middle age? How does she become forced to pick her own food and collect her own wood for the winters? In 1940’s India, before even a hint of feministic equality, how does a woman not only uphold her own dignity but also raise three refined daughters in the face of unexpected adversity? The pure personification of integrity, Yadvi, will take you on her journey through the India of Kings and Queens, of Princes and polygamy.
Directed by New York Based Actress Jyoti Singh with a script based on a real life story/Screenplay of Yaduvansh Kumari, the princess of Patiala, dramatized by Gauri Singh, addresses the dilemmas and constraints that existed in the period right before and after Indian independence. The director and the screenwriter are both granddaughters of the late princess.
A biography, this film is the tale of Princess Yadhuvanshi Kumari (1922-2006) of the Phulkian dynasty, daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
According to the British records, she was called Princess Alice and was also known as Yadvi. But her father would fondly call her Flutterfly because as a young girl, she could not pronounce butterfly.
Yadvi is the tale of the beloved daughter of the famous Maharaja of Patiala, the first to own an airplane in India, played by Bollywood actor, Chandrachur Singh. Chandrachur’s son debut’s as a child artist and the actor sings one of the songs of the film, “Rangreeza.”
At a young age, Yadvi is betrothed to marry a Rajput prince from Maihar, Madya Pradesh, to strengthen the political relationship between her kingdom and that of the prince with the caveat and she would only move after a certain age. Unexpected circumstances force Yadvi (Jyoti Singh) to move to Maihar earlier than anticipated, and she faces unforeseen challenges when she meets Prince of Maihar (Rahul Godara).
“It’s a very positive story about my grandmother – of a woman’s journey, a survivor,” Singh told Desi Talk in an earlier interview when the film was featured at the Manhattan Film Festival April 23, last year.. “Ultimately it shows how she even did kheti (farm labor) to earn her living, with dignity, never going back to her father’s house, living her life with humility and grace as she went from extreme riches to poverty,” Singh said.
The film also stars Vibhu Raghav, Nikkitasha Marwaha, Reshaa Sabharwal, Kuvam Handa, Yadvi Handa, Aishwarya Singh, Bernadine Linus, Namya Saxena, Minnie Mandit, Charu Vyas, Gauri Singh, Mariane Borgo (French Actress), and Dina Rosenmeir (Actress from Denmark).
The film is produced under the banner of RVP Productions, executive producer, Sumeet Verma. It is rare to see an independent film made so well.
The film has been screened in several festivals and won awards, including the Dada Saheb Phalke film festival (Best Emerging Female Director); The Peoples Film Festival (Best Cinematography-Jigme Tensing), and a host of others, where different characters as well as film-makers including Jyoti Singh, have received recognition for their work and creativity.