Title of film : Deliverance

Cast & crew :

Producer :

Editor : Dulal Dutta

Cast :

1. 1. Om Puri
2. 2. Smita Patil
3. 3. Mohan Agashe
4. 4. Geeta Kak

Synopsis : “Sadgati” is a short film by Ray. With a running time of less than an hour, keeps one riveted (taut editing by Dulal Dutta is a vital ingredient), as one totally empathises with the grossly disturbing trials and tribulations of Dukhi (Om Puri), whose only fault is to seek time from the village priest (Mohan Agashe, impeccable as the high caste Brahmin) to visit his house to solemnize the engagement of his adolescent daughter, Dhania (Richa Mishra). As Dukhi cuts grass in a field and carries the bundle on his head to take it as a gift for the priest, he suffers a bout of momentary dizziness due to hunger, but is stabilised by his concerned wife, Jhuria (Smita Patil). Unfazed, Dukhi spurns her request to drink some brew, citing the overriding importance of his visit to the priest's house. But the self-obsessed Brahmin orders him to clean the sprawling verandah of his house and then do more heavy work, which, finally, culminates in the back breaking task of cutting an unwieldy log of wood into fine splinters with a rudimentary axe under a merciless sun. A fatigued and hungry Dukhi battles on. Meanwhile, the priest enjoys a hearty meal with his wife (his third as he boasts in front of some gullible folks who have come to hear his discourse on the meaning of death) in the cool environs of his house. The unmitigated tragedy reflects in the smouldering eyes of the priest's young son, who witnesses Dukhi's collapse into the throes of death. The anguished youngster wakes up his father from a siesta, who, in turn, wakes up his wife. The unperturbed lady nonchalantly asks her husband not to lose his nerve and just inform Dukhi's fate to inhabitants of the outcast village so that they can collect the corpse for disposal. However, in a rare act of defiance, they refuse to take away the corpse which is blocking the way of the high castes to their source of drinking water. A heavy downpour threatens to hasten the dead body's decay. Herein unravels the moral dilemma for the beleaguered priest. In the shadows of an overcast dusk, he does the unthinkable – pull the lifeless body of Dukhi and dump it in the midst of rotting carcass and skeletons of dead animals