One's first reaction after seeing "Haseena" is to wonder how this fabulous, touching film missed the national award for the best film of the year.

Acclaimed filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli has chosen a bold subject for "Haseena", which narrates the tragic tale of a Muslim woman.

The movie stands out for its totally realistic presentation and the exquisite performance of all the artists. Kasaravalli proves again that a film can be well made on a reasonable budget without compromising the values of good filmmaking.

"Haseena" is based on a story written by well-known Kannada writer Bhanu Mustaq, who hails from the coastal region of Karnataka and has been steadfastly raising issues concerning Muslim women.

The film presents the touching story of a Muslim woman deserted by her husband. The film has deservedly won national awards for four artists including Tara who won the best actress award for the first time. It has also won two additional awards in the category of the best film on family welfare and costume designing.

The story is about Haseena, a poor woman who works day and night to look after her three daughters. Her husband has deserted her because she has not given birth to a mail child and is already on a lookout for another wife.

Haseena wants her husband to return to her and complains about it to the local mosque authorities. She fails to get justice and ends up becoming a pawn in the mosque politics.

Tara has indeed delivered a powerful performance. This, however, does not belittle the performances of Chandrakanth Ullal, Ruthu, Chitra Shenoy and R. Nagesh.

The film's other highlights include the camera work by S. Ramachandra and costume design by Ishrath Nissar. While the film has no songs, the background score by Thomas Issac is uplifting.