The short video is brief, but impactful. In its concise manner, it carries forth a powerful message - one of taking immediate and swift action against irresponsible sale of acid. The non-fiction narrative follows a social experiment in which several actors, posing to be customers, solicit local shops to purchase acid. In the process, the video reveals how easy it is to procure a bottle of a liquid that can destroy and alter someone's life permanently. The team manages to get twenty-four litres of acid in one day, further accentuating the disconcerting reality of Indian society. Despite several guidelines by the Supreme Court of India that regulate the sale of acid, their implementation as well as the ground reality is far from it. The video, on the whole, is a skilful weaving of elegant camerawork and convincing scenes, and succeeds at its attempts of raising awareness against the menace of acid attacks.

Won’t Buy Won’t Sell | Chhapaak | Deepika Padukone, Vikrant Massey, Meghna Gulzar

‘Rubaroo’ applies an interesting approach to its visual development which ensures that the punch of the film truly lands. The plot has set out to convey an important social message, one about cruel, brutal acid attacks carried out against women in India. 

The communication of the message is achieved with swift narratorial progression, as well as a strong performance, most crucial for the triumph of the film. Together the various elements come forth to present a powerful narrative which, in turn, succeeds in telling an urgent story.

Rubaroo | Short Film of the Day

The short film attempts a lot of visual treatments and different manners of engaging with its story. From animation to explicit and suggested violence to neon colours splashed across its screen - it employs them all and deserves brownie points for the technical skill it exhibits in handling them. In terms of story, it attempts to blur lines between reality and dream to confuse as well as engage the viewer. The story is essentially of a breakup and the consequent anxiety it leads to in both the parties, as well as a friend of the heartbroken girl. The dreams of all three characters are afflicted with gory images of a violence. It also starts a conversation around gender in general, and concerns like an acid attack, in particular. This goes hand-in-hand with invoking a sense of the female energy that threatens to decimate its male counterpart. Over all, through the exploration of the several dynamics of a breakup, the film talks about all of this and presents it all to the viewer in the form of a completed product.

What If? | Short Film Nominee

Jal opens with a trigger warning of graphic violence, though there is not a scene of graphic, physical or
sexual violence in the film. This decision to exclude the ‘act’, and render it unworthy of representation
displays sensitive, ethical artistic intent. 
Devoid of any dialogue, it unearths years of silence without uttering a word. It pays an ode to an
indomitable spirit that rises despite all attempts to crush her spirit. It is a film about a cruel, ugly
moment in a beautiful girl’s life that scars her face, but not her soul, and not her life. In a country that
has the third highest number of acid attack cases in the world, for a story to take the turn towards a
fairytale is a positive, affirming decision. This turn towards the optimistic, positive side of things could have been inspired by the
Deepika Padukone-starrer Chhapaak, but even so, it remains a sensitive film with its own merits.

Jal | Short Film Nominee

The film seeks to throw a loud, powerful blow at patriarchy, and it manages to do that. A woman who
has been scarred on her face as a result of an assault by a man, sets out to perform the same act on the
same man, but then, something changes. Would you call it an act of revenge, retribution or justice? The
film raises the same question. 
In our patriarchal and deeply misogynistic society which shames the woman while the criminal man
roams with insolence, the film presents a counterview.

I'm Not You | Short Film Nominee

The film opens with a young man photographing freshly cut apples and oranges for his Instagram story about a healthy lifestyle. However, in reality, several wrappers of junk food crowd his bedroom floor. 
After sometime, he receives a text message from an unknown girl who claims he is an important part of her life. They converse in the same manner for a couple of weeks and develop a deep friendship and ultimately, decide to meet. When face-to-face, he recognises her as the acid attack survivor he had helped get to the hospital a couple of months ago. Despite running the danger of over-simplification when it comes to its thematic concerns, the plot offers a well-intentioned message to the viewer using the story of these two strangers.

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