Aie Lu Malap (Don’t tell mom!) is an uplifting film about the struggle of a single mother to raise three children who suddenly finds herself immersed in poverty.

It is not a fresh concept of course. Such story lines have been extracted to exhaustion in many films, foreign and domestic. But what separates Aie Lu Malap from others and gives it its appeal is its refusal to waste time into the song and dance routine, the usual diet of Bhutanese films in which at least five songs are thrown in. Never mind if it does not connect the pieces.

Songs are strong motivators of emotions, and especially in a movie like Aie Lu Malap there is a danger of excess maudlin distracting its message. Instead Aie Lu Malap delves into the intricacies of the relationships between a mother and her children vis-a-vis their circumstances, the main obstacles here being the ever crippling absence of money.

Ditched by her husband for a rich woman, Lhamo struggles to raise her two sons and an infant daughter.

The film also plays up on how children from broken families, faced with poverty, learns to priotize their needs. It attempts to show how difficult situations bond family.

Lhamo looks the character and plays her part with admirable care. Challenged with the need for money, yet overruled by her sense of morality, Lhamo deals with her situations with dignity and strength, the sort that raises a woman’s self esteem.

“It’s important to bring out subjects that confronts our society,� said the film’s scriptwriter, Norbu Wangchuk. The cinematography and sound draws one into a remarkable intimacy with the mother’s plight and her battle with life. Some scenes, nonetheless, drag.

The one-hour and forty five-minute film from the Himalayan Pictures Entertainment, will be released next month, July, in Paro.
Source: Kuenselonline