The film locates itself in a pandemic-stricken world where a woman struggles to ensure her daughter does not miss her online classes. A smartphone is absolutely imperative for these classes, but Shalini’s young daughter, Aami accidentally broke theirs. 

Now Shalini struggles between jobs, even at the cost of her own well-being, to ensure that she somehow puts enough money together for a new phone. In the process, not only does the narrative draw a very clear boundary between the haves and the have-nots, but it does so without letting itself get consumed by sentimentalism. Inherent to the narrative is also the idea of the many sadnesses that many of us carry within. 

If for someone it is the struggle to make ends meet, for another it is being stuck in an oppressive job where you can only nod and suffer in silence at the hands of a cruel boss, and for yet another, it is the longing and memory of a lost loved one. Aami, the little daughter, too notices the sacrifices her mother makes while putting on a brave face all along, and it is primarily this courage and perseverance of character that the film preoccupies itself with, in a sincere, devoted manner.

Shalini | Short Film Nominee

'Kanneer' (Tears) is an earnest and sincere conversation with grief. It introduces us to a couple, defined more by the silences shared between them rather than the verbal exchanges. A tragic loss also rests at the heart of this relationship, a loss that has left both the man and the woman struggling with overwhelming agony. 
By simply presenting a moment in time, and investing all its effort in refining it, the film portrays a couple's attempts to cope with pain, loss and tragedy, while also endeavoring to be there for each other. The storytelling is direct, but exhibits deep potential in terms of maturity and the handling of the subject. It is a welcome prospect to interact with more creative endeavors in the same vein.

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