Surrogacy is not something uncommon these days. In fact, many women
from Western countries come to third world countries seeking for surrogate
mothers. India is quite a haven of surrogate mothers, according to some
reports. The issue, however, has not been a theme of many films. But, Marathi
film Mala Aai Vyichya addresses it
quite effortlessly, although with an extra dose of melodrama.
Film Clip
Film Clip
Director: Samruddhi Porey
The film gets to the issue straightaway. Here is a couple from
abroad that employs Yashoda to be the surrogate mother. Yashoda, a single
mother, agrees to earn some money to get her daughter’s leg operation done.
But, things take a dramatic turn when the medical reports suggest that the
surrogate child may be born with deformity. It is here that the foreign couple
deserts Yashoda to fend for herself and the new-born. The destiny, though,
wills otherwise. The child is born normal and Yashoda gets emotionally attached
to the child. After many years, the couple comes back seeking for the child.
The film raises several issues, but evades the most important one –
the ethical. When a child born of a surrogate mother, whose child is it anyway?
The law is very clear: that the surrogate mother is just a facilitator and not
the real mother. But, what if the surrogate mother develops an emotional bonding
with the child in the womb? Bearing a child is not merely a physical activity;
the whole person, with her feelings and emotions is involved in it. All the
same, the film succeeds in raising many questions, even as it answers a few of
them. Full marks to Urmila Kanitkar, the surrogate mother.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
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