‘Gray’ is a beautifully controlled conversation on consent, relationships, blurred boundaries of intimacy, with all of them tied with an implicit, but also impactful question - are they truly blurred enough to be ignored? The title presents the idea of a lack of distinct categories, but as the story progresses, it asserts that while it is easy to dismiss neatly drawn black and white lines as gray, to eschew accountability, and instead adopt wilful blindness, things are much more clearly defined in moments of intimacy. And thus, after having established its premise, begins the film’s forward motion towards the same conclusion. 

Now, the premise in itself can very easily fall in the trap of threadbare storytelling, or lacking much-needed nuance, or devolve into emotional melodrama. However, the aforementioned control, the writing, and needless to say, the strong performances, all ensure that the film achieves its goal seamlessly. 

Along with it, there is also a subtle mention of the rampant pervasiveness of sexual assault or more aggressive ignoring of boundaries when it comes to the female experience, that further leads to the normalization of what is offhandedly touted as the “gray” territory, when indeed it is very starkly black.

Gray | Short Film of the Month

The short films opens with the planning of a conspiracy to overthrow the British. The year is 1947, Indians are languishing under the colonial rule and it's time to take matters in their own hands. To achieve the same, youngsters from across India have collected in a remotely located hut. While the plan is hatched in shadows, faces soon become brighter and clearer as it seems to be taking a more defined form. After fighting the darkness of internal conflict, as is also conveyed by literal momentary darkness on screen, the lamp is lit and the path is found once again. The film, which is set in a time when leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru were at the forefront of the freedom struggle, also offers a critique of the nationalist movement. Finally, The Insignificant closes with an interesting thought - all representatives of different parts of the country want freedom, but is that all that they truly want?

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