Indian customs are often deeply-rooted in patriarchal traditions of an age long gone by. Problematic at their core, they are also employed by men to deprive women of agency and the ability to take their own decisions, or even perform important actions, as is true in the case of our protagonist. 

A woman who had left her hometown of Varanasi to move to London, returns for the last rites of her beloved grandmother. Even though the women of the household welcome her back, the patriarch of the family, an uncle, blocks her way at every step. After a refusal to be allowed to perform the final duties for her grandmother, she takes it upon herself to make him see the folly of his ways. 

It is through her attempts to keep pushing, even in the face of all opposition by the men who remain custodians of power that they not only want to assert, but also maintain in a patriarchal society, that the film presents its intentions to the viewer. The arguments it makes, eventually adopting a notable poetic voice for the same, are pertinent. However, the narrative could have gained from a little more ease, effortlessness in its development. It chooses strong actors, but deprives them of an organic pace for the story.

The Last Rights | Short Film of the Day

The narrative raises relevant points about fidelity in marriage, a housewife's ceaseless efforts to win over an indifferent husband who is also having an affair, and the manner in which patriarchal entitlement operates within such a situation. However, amidst it all, how is Rajveer, a third character, located? Rohit ignores and avoids every effort Neha makes to get close to him, and yet, the moment she shows the first sign of being happy without him, the situation piques a different kind of interest in him. As he attempts to unravel the truth to get to the bottom of the love affair he thinks Neha is having behind his back, an unexpected development awaits both him and the viewer.

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