The girl with the Indian emerald

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Movie
Original title The girl with the Indian emerald
Country of production Germany
original language German
Publishing year 2013
length 180 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Michael Karen
script Natalie Sharp
production Katrin Goetter ,
Nico Hoffmann ,
Jürgen Schuster
music Siggi Mueller ,
Jörg Magnus Pfeil
camera Alexander Fischerkoesen
cut Simon Blasi ,
Behruz Torbati
occupation

The Girl with the Indian Emerald is a two-part German drama from 2013.

action

Part 1

Shortly before Christmas, the teacher Annie Krüger received a call from India. Her father, who was supposed to be on vacation in Spain, has disappeared from a hotel in Jaipur . Without further ado, she books a flight to India and is on her way. On the way, she meets the rich Indian Arun on board the plane.

Arriving in India, Annie makes her way to the hotel where her father lived. Her handbag is stolen and she meets the Indian Karan. Karan is a pariah who manages to get Annie's belongings back from the thieves and who accompanies her through Jaipur in his rickshaw for the next few days . A deep bond develops between the two.

When Annie finds a list of the names of influential Indians in her father's hotel room, she tries to find out what is behind it, but nobody wants to talk to her, except for Maritha Singh, a mysterious Maharani . Annie's father, the doctor Wilhelm Krüger, still knows this from his earlier work. In the palace, Annie surprisingly meets Arun, Maritha's son, again. To help Annie find her father, Arun invites her to a charity event the next evening. There Annie hopes to get into conversation with the influential Indians. Since Arun is childishly jealous of Karan, he lets his servant see to it that Karan's house in the slums is destroyed and that he is arrested. At the charity gala, Annie then learns that the giant emerald from the fairy tale she told her school class before she left for India exists and is in the possession of the Maharani.

Annie learns from a friend of the Maharani that her father had a relationship with the Indian midwife Meena. But this trail leads nowhere, since Meena, who founded a foundation after Annie's father left the country, died a few years ago. Her Meena's brother, Minu-Minu, could help. He lost both legs after an accident and is now viewed as a magician by the residents of the slum. But before her conversation with Minu-Minu, Annie receives a message from Maritha that the police are certain that her father is dead. After a car accident, he was burned in a taxi, leaving only his wedding ring. Annie found consolation with Arun, deeply shocked, and celebrated the funeral service with him on the banks of the Ganges.

Part 2

Annie is determined to leave, but Arun persuades her to have dinner with his mother and other guests. It comes up that the midwife Meena Maritha is said to have blackmailed at her wedding. The next day, Arun accompanies Annie to the airport, but first he takes her to a holy place and proposes to her. As a token of his love, he gives her the green emerald. At that moment, Minu-Minu suddenly appears and advises Annie to go to Cheepal, then he is taken away by the police. Annie declines the marriage proposal, completely disturbed. But the advice of the magician doesn't leave her in peace and so she looks for all the information she can get and decides against the return flight.

Arriving at the Cheepal Colonial Cemetery, Annie suddenly finds her "own" tombstone. It reads that Annie Krüger died in 1981 at the age of three months. So for Annie the question arises: Who is she really and where is she from? To find out more, she tries to meet Arun Minu-Minu in prison with the help of Arun, but he allegedly died trying to escape. In prison, however, they meet Karan, who is still being held here and Annie learns that Arun is responsible for the destruction of Karan's house.

Since she suspects that her origins are related to the work of midwife Meena, she seeks help from Dr. Hager, the current head of the Meenas Foundation. She also explains to her the role of women in India and that the birth of a girl is usually a minor catastrophe for families and only boys are welcome as family owners.

The Maharani lets Annie come to and offers her money to have her leave the country immediately. In doing so, she admits that, thanks to Meena's help, she was replaced by a boy. Annie has to realize with horror that she is the actual heiress of the Maharajah as the firstborn and leaves the palace. Since Arun appears in the meantime, his "mother" has to explain to him that he is not her son at all. He also leaves the property without a word.

Surprisingly, Annie's father reappears. He reveals himself to his "daughter" and claims to have to go into hiding because he is in danger because he blackmailed the wrong parents. Annie is determined to bring the scandal to the public. With Arun's help, who apologizes to her for his behavior and promises to rebuild Karan's house, she finds hidden documents that show that eight more children have been exchanged. Gradually, Annie also realizes that with the research she will destroy the Indian hierarchy. Arun, meanwhile, loses his feet when he realizes that he comes from the worst slum in Jaipur. He, who supposedly was born into the top caste, is less than Karan. When he has to realize this, he cannot get over the shame otherwise than to choose suicide.

The Maharani, meanwhile, is being taken away because the authorities have been informed about the statements made by Annie and her "father". As heiress of the Singh family, Annie Meenas can support the Foundation financially and make their long-cherished wish to build a village of "1000 Girls" a reality for the abandoned and orphaned girls of Jaipur.

Production and publication

The film was shot in Jaipur and Amber , India . In Germany it appeared as a two-part series of 90 minutes each on ZDF . The first part reached 5.74 million viewers and a market share of 15.4%, the second part 6.11 million viewers and 18.4% market share. The film was released on DVD on December 6, 2013.

reception

The film received many positive reviews. In its article "The girl with the Indian emerald" - teacher in India's fairy tale kingdom , the Rheinische Post praised the fact that there were spectacular, cinema-like images such as intense colors, picturesque temples, imposing palaces and snow-covered Himalayas, but also brutal poverty, exploitation and exclusion The caste system has succeeded in bringing the confusing, spiritually charged country a little closer.

The FAZ stated that the “fairytale India-Schnulze” had nothing to do with the miserable reality, but was convincing with its optics and good actors.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manuel Weis: Primetime check: Sunday, November 10, 2013 . November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  2. ^ Sidney Schering: Primetime check: Monday, November 11, 2013 . November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Rheinische Post: "The girl with the Indian emerald" - teacher in India's fairytale kingdom . November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  4. ^ FAZ: On Sunday on ZDF: Bollywood and Biedermeier . November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.