You deserve to be punished!
You have incurred the Devi's wrath.
The Devi is warning you one last time!
Change your ways...
or else face the consequences.
You have been warned!
Why did the old priestess get upset all of a sudden?
Oh no wait!
This happens much later.
Let's start from the beginning.
Poor Saraswati was gone.
And Sharada was about to get married to Saraswati's husband.
I must say...
the decorations are so beautiful!
My wedding had twice the decorations.
And a groom twice your age.
That's the tradition the Devi asked us to follow!
The Devi passed it down to us.
And who told you that?
My father.
And who told him?
His father!
If this tradition was passed down to us by our forefathers...
what tradition did the Devi pass down to us?
I think that...
we should call upon the Devi and ask Her ourselves.
Should we ask Ahilya?
She will know the answer.
She's quite smart.
What's the point of being smart?
She hasn't even come of age yet.
She’s destined to be the next temple priestess.
That's how it's supposed to be.
Has anyone seen Sharada?
I can't find her!
Huh!?
What do I do now?
See what you've done?
By encouraging girls to go to school!
That's where they learn to disregard our traditions!
Shameless girl!
I'm sure she has eloped!
Please don't say that! My daughter's not like that.
She'll take her own life before...
doing something like that.
Oh really?
Then go find her!
And bring her to me!
Go on!
Yes, let's look for her.
She should be somewhere close.
Let's go!
Let's look for her!
Ahilya!
Everyone's looking for Sharada except you!
So?
Didn't find her, did you?
How do you know that?
People have been yelling her name all morning.
Even Kalindi must have heard it at the village border.
You care about us girls only until we’re married.
Did anyone care about Saraswati once she was married?
Vesai.
Devi, you’ve witnessed everything.
You are the all-knowing one.
Mai!
The groom’s family has called off the wedding!
The whole village is shaming us!
If you think I have sinned...
I beg your forgiveness but...
just let me see my daughter once.
Even if she's dead. That will at least preserve her honour and ours.
Our honour lies in your hands, Mai!
Show us mercy, Mai. Please show us mercy!
Aai!
Sharada!
What are you doing inside!
Get out of there!
You can't enter the sanctuary once you've got your period!
Else in fifteen days...
Vesai!
Please forgive me, Vesai Devi!
Come out before someone sees you!
I'm not going anywhere!
Come out right now, Sharada!
- It is our tradition! - Tradition?
Saraswati followed every tradition!
Then why did she lose her life?
She endured great pain to keep our tradition alive.
For what?
You kept telling her having a child would fix everything!
Where did that get her?
She's dead now.
If I’m doomed to die after marriage anyway, I’d rather die like this.
You were fine seeing me dead, weren't you?
How could you say such a thing?
Just come out of there!
I will.
But on one condition.
Kill me if you have to!
Tomorrow, when the village wants answers...
I will speak.
And you will not say a word!
You can do as you please.
Just please don't let anyone, and I mean anyone...
ever find out you had entered the sanctuary.
Understood?
Now please come here.
Aai.
Who are you really scared of?
The Devi?
Or the villagers?
Let's just go home.
Don't say a word!
Hello there!
Boo!
Where the hell were you?
And with whom?
No, no! She was by herself!
By herself?
Speak!
No, I wasn't alone.
I knew it!
This is what they learn in school.
This one is a lost cause!
But you can still save your daughters.
Hey!
Get me that piece of cloth!
Listen, you filthy coward!
I was with Vesai Devi.
I was praying so I wouldn’t have to marry this miserable man!
Does anyone have a problem with that?
This girl is now beyond saving!
In fifteen days, the Devi will take her life anyway!
I don't want to marry a girl like her!
Are you sure?
Their whole family is rotten!
They need to be banished from the village!
Ramya!
Stop it!
But--
Shut up!
Why punish her family for her sins?
It's the girl who has disobeyed.
She should be the one who's punished.
That is our tradition!
Yes! That's right!
Am I right, Tatya?
I'll be dead in fifteen days anyway, right?
- Let that be my punishment! - Listen!
It is because of arrogant girls like her...
that I don't want girls in school!
Look at how much this bothers Guna!
He can't even find the right words.
Listen.
You'll be dead in fifteen days.
But the village will face the Devi's wrath.
Am I right?
Yes, that's right!
No!
The Devi needs to see...
that we've punished her.
Only then will She spare us!
Do you'll agree?
Yes, we agree!
Do you'll agree?
Yes, we agree.
- Do you'll agree? - Yes, we agree.
Go get it!
You wait here!
Wait.
Move back!
Wait!
Aai!
Move back!
You deserve to be punished!
You're the ones who deserve punishment!
All of you!
All of you deserve to be punished!
Remember what I told you?
Do you?
I had told you...
to keep my girls happy.
But you locked them up in the village!
Everyone's doing as they please in my name!
You were supposed to keep them happy but you turned them into underage brides!
This cannot go on.
You have incurred the Devi's wrath.
The Devi is warning you one last time!
Change your ways!
Or else face the consequences!
You have been acting against my wishes!
Is there no one here who is more responsible?
The Devi will now unleash her wrath!
The Devi has spoken!
This is your final warning!
Change or else face the consequences!
The Devi is angry!
Why didn’t you tell me earlier?
I've been through hell for fifteen days!
Why would you do that to me?
Did you do it on purpose?
I mean...
I know you were protecting me.
And no one found out about my period.
Just watch over me!
OK?
I'll see you soon!
Stop!
I was--
just--
I...I have...
got your period?
You know the rules, don't you?
I didn't do it on purpose, Aaji!
My mother took me to the sanctuary.
It's been more than fifteen days!
Please...please don't tell anyone!
I want to stay in school and pass Class Ten.
Just...
please don't tell anyone!
This will all be over.
Aaji, please don't tell--
I won't!
It looks like the Devi herself is protecting you.
Who am I to get in Her way?
The Devi is by your side.
May all your wishes be granted!
I won't let this continue.
The Devi is about to show you Her wrath!
And so I have decided that...
the temple doors will be opened for every girl!
I've come here today...
to take all my little girls with me into the sanctuary.
I want to see everyone.
It has been years since I met or even saw anyone.
It'll incur the Devi's wrath--
Trust me, nothing will happen!
When my little sister got her period...
she was scared, just like you are now.
She said to me...
"Tai."
"Please don't tell anyone!"
I just...
wanted her to have...
what I couldn't.
And so I got her married.
I didn't know...
that I was pushing her to her death!
She died within six months.
You don't want to get married, do you?
Yeah, right!
So this hag believes the Devi's calling out to us!
And we're supposed to believe her!
You want the innocent ones to pay...
for the sins of the guilty!
My foot!
You’ve kept innocent women within walls of fear for years!
How is that a tradition?
Shut your mouth!
No, you shut up!
The Devi is calling us!
And no one can stop us!
Oh!
The Devi is calling you?
This hag is taking us for a ride.
You think we can't see what you're up to?
Will the people believe what Aaji says?
Yes, they will.
For 500 years, they’ve followed this tradition blindly.
Words won't change them...
only a miracle will.
Red phosphorus!
Who dares challenge that I am the Devi!
Who here thinks I am lying?
You turned little girls into brides.
You even made them mothers.
They worked through their pain.
Some lost their unborn babies.
Some lost their own lives.
This is not a divine tradition.
This is a punishment.
But enough!
Henceforth, not just Sharada, no one will be punished again.
You heard me.
I declare...
that the temple doors be opened for everyone!
I want to meet all my girls!
Your true home is calling you girls!
Come, let's meet our Mai.
Come with me!
Come.
Come with me, girls.
Let's go home.
What nonsense is this?
Dattu, handle this!
What is all this, Tatya!
Listen to me everyone!
We have always followed what the Devi has asked us.
We also believe that the Devi speaks through the priestess.
And it has served us well in the past.
And so...
we must obey...
what the Devi has said today!