The film, set in a Bihar village, takes up the cause of women trapped in a male-dominated society. Madhuri Dixit plays the rebellious daughter-in-law in a family which also consists of her husband (Ayub Khan, 1950s pin-up girl Begum Para's son), an elder brother-in-law (Mohan Agashe), and a sister-in-law (Shabana Azmi). Shilpa Shirodkar and Om Puri also feature as low caste labourers.

But no, contrary to the billing, this is not meant to be an art venture. "This is a commercial film with fights, songs and drama. And then you have Madhuri Dixit who is a popular commercial actress," Jha points out. Madhuri, he hastens to add, has not been included to make the film saleable. "She can act and look glamorous," he declares, not without some passion.

"As a woman, and an educated one at that, she has to deal with a chauvinistic husband, a feudal brother-in-law and also an evil zamindar. Plus, she has to make the women in the village aware of the atrocities that has become a part of their everyday lives," the director says, outlining the film's plot.

The story is derived from a real life incident in Bihar when a village panchayat ordered young men to rape a woman who did not want to marry into the same community. Jha, who was born in Bihar, says he has come across many such instances where a woman's place in society is decided by a man.

"Education doesn't matter. And if a woman rebels, she is harassed. The laws in the village are made by the panchayat and rich men and they can sentence a woman to death without consulting the law," Jha says. In Mrityudand, the women wake up to that fact during the denouement and rebel at the situation.

Jha has blended Hindi with Bhojpuri to give the film's dialogue that touch of realism. No elaborate sets were used, and most of the shooting was done on location, with the camera drinking in the verdant countryside. Still, the bill was high -- Rs 30 million as against the Rs 1.2 million he spent on Bandish, his last film.

"Now you have a union which decide how many people you require to make a film. They forget it is we who pay their money. And the team does not come cheap now," the director says, with a sigh.

Despite starring Jackie Shroff and Juhi Chawla, Bandish was a flop. Jha is sure that Mrityudand will not face the same fate. "I have thought up the story, written the script. It is planned carefully, unlike Bandish. I like drama and this film has it"

Madhuri Dixit had planned to do one good (read non-commercial) film a year. Mrityudand, presumably, is the one for this year. Her last such film, Sudhir Mishra's Dharavi also starred Shabana Azmi and Om Puri.

Jha says he has given a lot of thought to the music in the film. "It is free-flowing. It merges with the story and nowhere will you find it jarring or out of place. It is great and different," he says.

Mrityudand is scheduled to release sometime next month and will decide Jha's credentials as a director. Is he good enough to stand alongside movietown's best?