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Indian director Santosh Sivan departed from his successful 1998 The Terrorist, a political thriller hailed as one of the most beautiful films ever to come from the subcontinent, to make this magical portrait of the inner life of Malli, a poor eight-year old girl. Malli works to help her parents collect firewood and plays with her best friend, the deaf and mute daughter of a middle class family. She longs for two things in this world: a new bright yellow dress and a magical blue bead that purportedly will restore her friend's hearing. Depicted with a surreal, occasionally nightmarish texture, the film lyrically shows both the easy friendships and bitter disappointments of childhood and the power of the imagination. Malli was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival.