One of the most intriguing things about Pushpendra Singh's new film Laila Aur Satt Geet (The Shepherdess And The Seven Songs), is Laila herself, the woman at the heart of the story. It is a film of mesmerising beauty, that is many things—a feminist story, a folk tale, political commentary on Kashmir and "Me Too," and the complicated issue of a woman's consent. Set in Kashmir and in the Gojri dialect, it has been adapted from a Rajasthani folk tale, Vijaydan Detha's Kenchuli (Snakeskin). The film wowed audiences at the 70th Berlin Film Festival that ran from February 20 to March 1. It is Singh's fourth feature after Lajwanti (which also premiered at the Berlinale in 2014), Ashwatthama and Maru Ro Moti.

Laila, a beautiful Bakarwal shepherdess from Kashmir, is married against her consent, to the dim-witted shepherd Tanvir (Sadakkit Bijran). So great is Laila's beauty that two policemen try to proposition her. Furious, the feisty Laila thrashes both of them, straddling the chest of the station house officer, pummeling and kicking him. It is rare in Indian cinema to see such images of a lone woman taking on the powerful police. When she asks her husband to protect her, he tells her not to offend the police, "because they can label us militants and kill us." A chilling commentary on men, as well as the Indian police and army in Kashmir. In fact, the film also makes reference to the revoking of Article 370 and Article 35 (A), which guaranteed special status to Jammu and Kashmir; to migrants within India being harassed for permits and Aadhar cards, and underlines the fluidity of borders.