In the program guide for SIFF this spring, the official description of Vanaja was deceptive. The summary claimed the film is about a destitute Indian teen who dreams of becoming a dancer. It’s actually about a young girl’s sudden leap into adulthood after she’s raped and becomes pregnant. Fans of cheery Bollywood bombast should pass on this one. It doesn’t get more somber than Vanaja, a film where life never gets better, unless you have a lot of money. The movie boasts some beautiful extended sequences of traditional South Indian dance, placed there only to advance plot, not express character—especially Vanaja’s. Worse, the film keeps pushing her into increasingly harmful situations for increasingly dubious reasons. Debut director Rajnesh Domalpalli loads so much misery into Vanaja‘s overlong, 111-minute run time that the tragedy becomes overwhelming, rather than creating empathy. But at least you’ll know your watch batteries don’t need replacing.