Indelible Lalita

Part medical journal, part spiritual journey, “Indelible Lalita” is about how one woman, the unforgettable Lalita Bharvani, copes with various health obstacles including vitiligo, the skin condition (made famous by Michael Jackson) that causes loss of pigment. While the alteration of one’s appearance would be difficult for anyone, for a dark-skinned person to gradually become white is especially challenging. But in Bharvani, filmmaker Julie Mallozzi has found a subject so spirited and serene that even themes as potentially lofty as identity transformation are brought down to earth.

Part medical journal, part spiritual journey, “Indelible Lalita” is about how one woman, the unforgettable Lalita Bharvani, copes with various health obstacles including vitiligo, the skin condition (made famous by Michael Jackson) that causes loss of pigment. While the alteration of one’s appearance would be difficult for anyone, for a dark-skinned person to gradually become white is especially challenging. But in Bharvani, filmmaker Julie Mallozzi has found a subject so spirited and serene that even themes as potentially lofty as identity transformation are brought down to earth.