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

Domestic violence, a malady intrinsic to Indian society, saw a staggering rise during the year 2020. This, in turn, makes the need to discuss this ailment more urgent than ever. As the pandemic ensured that we got confined indoors with little to no participation or distraction from the outside world, violence and abuse in the familial space reached shocking levels. The film is an endeavor to draw your attention to the same. It portrays the story of a young girl who finds it difficult to adjust in her environment or even reach out to anyone for help as a result of the abuse she is subjected to at home. By introducing you to her life, the film wants to do its bit in raising awareness and starting a dialogue in the hope of some kind of reform and change in society.

Chuppi Tod | Short Film Nominee

A corporate employee living in a big, crowded city ends up feeling lonely and distraught. Hoping to dissolve this inner turmoil with physical intimacy, the protagonist, Anubhav uses an online agency to appoint a sex worker, Supriti. 
On the day of the scheduled meeting, they go out for a cup of coffee upon Anubhav’s request and later for sightseeing at old fortresses and tombs. He takes an interest in Supriti’s life, asks about her family, their condition and so on. After their visit, Anubhav suggests that they keep meeting as friends and build a relationship of trust and understanding. However, despite the predictably positive direction the narrative could have been headed in, the film instead expands on the notion of love simply serving as an escape from impending loneliness.

Ehsaas | Short Film Nominee

A writer is struggling to come up with a concept for a pressing project. Her illustrator is already out of patience and frantically calling her for a draft so that she can start her own work in time, but to little avail. At the same time, our protagonist is also battling a medical issue she is yet to find out the specifics of. As all of these parts finally come into harmony and a doctor dispels her doubts and unease, the protagonist also finds herself making way to a fresh story. In the process, the narrative attempts a relevant comment on menstruation, the taboo surrounding it, the suffering it causes in women's lives on a daily basis, and most important of all, the role of each and everyone of us in effecting the change that is required in the conversation surrounding women's health and access to resources needed especially during their period.

Ritu Yagna | Lockdown Film Challenge

The film begins by contrasting the life of two young boys who are in the same class. One belongs to a middle-class household and the other to a lower middle-class one. The film shows how a difference in their circumstances can lead to a difference in their life and future. The boy in the lower middle-class household saw a father with an alcohol addiction. He was expelled from school because his father spent the money for his school fees on alcohol. The film argues that it was indeed this life of penury that eventually pushed him into the fatefully dark world of drug abuse.

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