Naima (Novera Rahman) is an artist, constructing elegant chalk drawings along the streets and steps near her family home in Bangladesh. She is very talented but its work mostly unseen (and stepped on). She makes almost no money, being ripped off by those who do request her services in decorating their storefronts and places of ceremony. When her father (Naresh Bhuiyan), a rickshaw driver, becomes ill, she must find real work to help support the family. When her first role as a housemaid leaves her in desperation, she heads for the streets again, this time disguised as a boy doing her father’s job.
Directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, and based on the novel by Mitali Perkins, the core of Rickshaw Girl is familiar, the needs and wants of a young woman seeking independence and a place in world seemingly designed to keep her out. All the tentpoles are there, with those striving to push her down and others seeing her potential, motivating her to fight for what she dreams. And for the most part, it works, the authentic setting and genuine performances making this an emotional experience.
That falls on Rahman’s shoulders, a young talent with a strong presence, finding the right tone for Naima in presenting her as a fiercely driven girl bound by tradition and a people that leave her often alone and lonely. Yet she is filled with hope and as Chowdhury keeps focus on her, allows us insight in the long dark corners where she lives, metephorical or otherwise.
As a glimpse into Bangladesh culture, Rickshaw Girl is a wonderful entry point, the film combining rich colorful imagination with dramatic street-level life. All the challenges you expect are there for a girl posing as a boy in a job dominated by men but the script, by Sharbari Z. Ahmed and Naseef Amin is less about the reveal of her gender than the symbolism of Naima herself, a representative of the country she lives in, proud and resourceful.
A mixed language film, the journey Naima takes is one filled with disappointment and hope, its ending perhaps not unexpected yet beautifully realized in a way that gives powerful depth to a young artist’s vision. Layered with an inspiring score by Debojyoti Mishra, a strong supporting cast, and confident direction, Rickshaw Girl is a small gem of a film that comes highly recommended.