The documentary, with its seamless, skilled camerawork and intelligent visual storytelling, introduces you to Parul Chauhan, a homemaker in a corner of Delhi, and her relationship with her motorcycle. Through her story and experiences, the film offers a pertinent comment on the location of women in a society where women like Chauhan are still anomalies and possible only due to a fortunate and near-perfect alignment of several moving parts - the most important of them all being a supportive family. As Chauhan takes us deeper into her world, we are introduced to how her riding allowed her to overcome several health problems. She further asserts that she hopes and plans to leave the women around her with the same indomitable spirit as her by teaching them to drive two-wheelers as well.

Journey of a Housewife to a Rider | Short Film of the Month

The film carries a very important message, one about the empowerment of women, with its primary focus on the lives of Indian housewives. The story locates itself in Guwahati, Assam, where a non-profit runs a sewing school for young women and girls, thereby allowing them the agency to step out of their house, and potentially acquire a skill as well as financial independence. It is a powerful narrative, carrying forth its message in no equivocal terms. The same is achieved by presenting the experiences of its interviewees, and the manner in which they overcame familial and societal obstacles, among others, to the viewer. Along with its subject matter, the film is marked by skilled and expert editing. It serves the crucial purpose of making it much more than what it already is. The two elements together, story and technical skill of editing, ensures the success of the narrative, encouraging the desire and conviction in women to step out of their confinements, put in place by others more often than nought, in pursuit of their dreams.

Pins n Needles | Short Film Nominee

The short film is a lovely interaction with a woman's exploration of what her life could have been or can be. As she makes hesitant, awkward, but endearing attempts to strive towards the same, the narrative offers a wonderful portrayal of it. There is further an attempt to explore how different people aspire precisely for those things that they don't have, while they might not be considered of worth by another who possesses them. Additionally, there is a subtle comment on the role of a homemaker who centers her whole life around sending her child to school, taking care of his tantrums, playing the devoted wife to her husband and so on. However, amidst all of this, when she looks for a corner for herself, where will she eventually find it, if she finds one at all?

Khayaali Pulao | Short Film Nominee

The lived reality of Indian housewives is often constituted by little to no worth of their emotional and physical labour towards the household. The inherent demand of them by society is also to often snuff out any dreams they may have harboured in the face of the will, needs and decisions of their family members, primarily the husband or the patriarch. The short film is an exploration of the same line of thought, taking the viewer into the life of a Marathi housewife ahead of the grand annual celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. However, the expression of the narrative's concern is not done in an overly-sentimental or hackneyed manner. Instead, it intelligently ties it all together with a dance competition the protagonist wants to participate in, while keeping it all a secret from her husband. In a familial space and marriage where asking her husband for some money requires her to muster all her courage and truly justify and explain all the reasons behind it, a woman choosing to finally accept and embrace an activity that gives her happiness, is indeed an important and much-needed comment to be made. Additionally, there is an engagement with the idea of how women can empower one another, as well as the confidence, strength, peace and above all, liberation, one can find in an activity that they sincerely love.

Ghungru | Short Film Nominee

Patriarchy, sexism and misogyny often work in tandem to the point of depriving a woman completely of agency, especially if she's a housewife who is financially dependent on her husband. The film is an exploration of the same dynamics by introducing us to the story of an average Indian household. It is a loving family of three members and the scene is of a rushed morning when, as the mother prepares the food, and the father hurries to leave for work, their daughter comes home to visit them. Amidst the worries to marry her off to a suitable partner, and the constant push and pull between parents and children that is common in many houses, another narrative develops. The father has a secret that threatens to throw this household completely out of balance, and this is when the daughter decides to ensure her mother is no longer subjected to the same fixed dictums of a patriarchal set-up she has already had to give up so much for. The film also has a message about second chances and people's ability to redeem themselves once they have been led to the realisation of the wrongs done by them. At the heart of the story remains an important reminder for the viewer and the manner they have been conditioned to see the world, often at the cost of the happiness and mental peace of innumerable women.

Suta | Short Film Nominee

In a traditional Indian set-up, women are often relegated to the space of domesticity within a family, with little outlet or options for understanding their personal, unique desires. The short film is an engagement with this thought as it takes the viewer into a single day in the life of a housewife. Married to a callous, distanced husband, she works hard at being a supportive, loving partner, but is only met with rejection and dismissal at every step. If on the one hand she recounts the story of a bird trapped in a gold cage, on the other, there is also an indication of an increasing amount of bitterness trickling into her own personality, making her cynical and weary of the world around her. The writing of the film deserves a mention for bringing out these elements that constitute her life, as well as portraying an intimate, but often denied part of her personality - her relationship with dance. The narrative finally concludes with the suggestion that perhaps it could have been her performance art that would have let her to be who she truly desired, finally allowing the trapped bird to soar free. However, in this existence, that remains far from being her reality.

Jhanak | Short Film Nominee

Several housewives in India are often reduced to the domestic chores they are responsible for. With little to no repayment of any kind for their emotional and physical labour, they are further deprived of their individuality. The film explores the experiences of one such woman who still holds on to reading her favourite childhood books, perhaps even as a means of escape, even if momentarily so, from her oppressive husband. Despite being tied to household chores that form the predominant part of her routine, she still finds herself turning to her stories for comfort. More than marriage, it is her evidently patriarchal husband who keeps her from only a single hobby that she allows herself, when she can truly enjoy simply being on her own. However, sometimes it is the little acts which become the biggest step towards the road to freedom and agency, and it is this realisation that the film seeks to leave its viewer with, conveyed using a pivotal decision that the protagonist takes at the conclusion of the story.

Devika | Short Film Nominee

The film uses an issue as its premise that, despite being a very relevant concern, is only talked about in hushed whispers behind closed doors, and often only in a hyper-sexualised manner. Consequently, it does not achieve the attention it deserves. The story is of a housewife whose unsatisfying sex-life leads her to use a carrot as a dildo. Alone at home all day, her mind first attempts to take shelter in all kinds of fantasy. She finds herself comparing her life with other married couples, and coy attempts to address the same concern with her husband leads to little to no solution. What the plot endeavours is an engagement with sexuality, but falls short of achieving the delicate and careful approach that would have allowed a smoother treatment of the subject matter.

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