The film is a union of three narratives about couples, each with very well-defined issues of their own. The storytelling does a notable job of talking about all of these issues from a lens of gender and equality, and brings in an approach that is often missing while discussing inequality and sexism within heteronormative relationships. 

The three situations include a woman trying to move on from her toxic boyfriend who refuses to let her find this space of comfort and ease. This is followed by a story where, on the heels of their marriage, a couple is confronted with deep imbalance that is tipped in the favor of the man. Lastly, the third couple presents a moment of self-doubt and uncertainty, and the absolute importance of support during such a crisis. 

The actors and the performances that they offer are sincere, and succeed at fulfilling their goal with ease. The stories remain devoid of maudlin sentimentalism, and thereby, are able to communicate their message and intentions with clarity.

Breakup Stories | Short Film Nominee

Locating itself during a very pivotal moment in history, the 1947 partition of India, the short film introduces the viewer to the social milieu of the time. Using the same as the hinterland against which the narrative unfolds, the film allows its concerns to achieve a more localised, personal and intimate approach. 

 While at first glance the period drama might seem like the story of the communal tensions and the absolute chaos that ravaged the towns that were close to the soon to be mapped out India-Pakistan border, it is much more than that. It is after this realisation that the film becomes the story of an eccentric and temperamental writer who introduces us to his own stories through the dilemmas and conflicts of the characters in his mind. Their visual representation allows almost an other-worldly, surreal quality to the film. 

 As stories of entire cultures get rewritten by history, portrayed by a film whose title, Ardhviram, or semicolon, is a direct echo of something that does not denote completion in itself, where will the protagonist find himself with respect to the thoughts and experiences that consume him, as well as his personal struggles as a writer?

Ardhviram | Short Film Nominee

The story begins on a romantic note, making the viewer believe that it will come to preoccupy itself with the ideas of love for a mute girl who refuses to be defined by this particular characteristic of her life. However, the film soon develops to reveal the several others concerns it wants to invoke an engagement with. Locating itself in a pandemic-ridden world where emotional and physical isolation is further coupled with financial difficulty, the narrative wants to take the viewer into the lived reality of its protagonist. Additionally, it wants to draw the viewer's attention to how, irrespective of the scale of tribulations, they can be overcome with the support of loved ones. However, when our protagonist, after having faced rejection in love as well as a huge roadblock in her professional life, finds herself at the end of her rope, what would bring her back from this space of deep despair? It is in the answer to this question that the film's core message lies - about hope and second chances that we all need to give to life.

Most Viewed

Genres

Awards

Follow Us

Quick Links