Veteran Kannada film actress Arathi, who rose to great heights during her acting career two decades ago by winning four best actress state government awards and four Film Fare awards, comes back to the industry after a long gap to showcase her talents as a director. Her first directorial venture which won the Best Film award from the Karnataka state government in the children's film category makes an honest attempt to portray the tragedy of child labour. Aarathi proves beyond doubt in her first film that she means business. It is a great transformation for the actress from being a weepy star of the eighties to a vibrant and intelligent director of the new millennium.

Arathi has created the film with some great commitment and transparent honesty. The film creates a right ambience and she restrains herself from making a run-of-the-mill formula film. Some real life incidents are weaved into a powerfully narrated story.

Mitaayi Mane is a haunting film which makes a strong statement on child labour. The script written by Yashaswini, Arathi's daughter is the film's strong point. The script poignantly delineates the tragedy of the film's protagonist Ganga. The film has borrowed from the European fairy tale Hansel and Gretel to illustrate how an illusion is created by the exploiters that a good life is provided to the children who work as servants in their houses. The film provides a human perspective on the consequences of the child labour.

Mitaayi Mane is the story of a 11-year-old Ganga alias Putti, who works as a maid servant in a middle class family. She has been made to work as a maid servant in the house only because her starving parents in the nearby rural village feel it is a better alternative to send her to the city than to let her starve. The film thereby illustrates through Ganga's perspective as to how she is being exploited and how her aspirations are quelled.

Child artist Aditi puts in a strong performance as Putti and the same could be said about other child artists. Dharmendra [Images] and Panchami as the middle class couple who engage Putti also impress. Well known television artist Surabhi Herur shines in the role of Ganga's mother. Overall, the film impresses with some good performance from all artists.

Though the film had a shoestring budget, it does not show and the technical points are top class. N S Prasad's background score as well as the puppet show add up to the film's quality.

Mitaayi Mane is certainly a film to be watched not only by the elite but also by people who understand good cinema.