One of the most important goals of art is to bring reformative change, to eventually make this world a better place. Its aim is to strive for an inclusive society where people of all genders and sexual orientations are allowed to live freely and without fear. The documentary film is an important step in the same direction. 

It offers not only a lucid and comprehensive, but also poignant and sincere account of a transgender boy's struggle to come to terms with his identity. Born as Ritika, but now having chosen an existence for himself as Ritwik, the protagonist shares with the viewer his mental health struggles, past failures in romance and society's inability to make him feel comfortable with his decisions even after all these years. What began as a sense of deep discomfort in his clothes and skin as a child, and briefly also came to be viewed as a mental illness by his parents, has now become a powerful assertion of an identity in a world that is obsessed with forcing everything into its own rigid categories. The overarching message of the narrative remains loud and clear - one about every person's right to subscribe to the gender they want to and are most comfortable with. In the process, doing its bit to further the cause, Tamas offers a beautiful and intelligent portrayal of an issue which requires more conversation and dialogue around it in the mainstream.

Tamas: From Ritika to Ritwik | Short Film of the Day

When it comes to storytelling, especially with the aid of a medium like a short film, it helps to focus on less than more. What it essentially means is that sometimes a sincere portrayal of a single moment, in the case of ‘Wing One's Way’ - a single conversation within the confines of the same room, is sufficient to make the story work.

The film achieves precisely this by taking us into a girl's dilemma who is mulling over coming out, and everything that would follow thereafter. There is something notably lovely and effortless about the two actors and their chemistry. This also marks the most pronounced aspect of the film - all the effort that has gone into making it look effortless and simple. The success of a story that is told devoid of any frills and bells, and with a consistent mellow approach to its many aspects, therefore becomes unmissable.

Wing One's Way...| Short Film of the Day

When a happily married man waits for his wife, lying beside him in bed, to fall asleep so that he can take his
phone to the bathroom, the viewer usually expects only one cause for the behaviour - the man is having
an affair with another woman. When a short film opens with a scene like that, it already launches itself
into an uphill battle as warding off such a deeply entrenched memory/bias of the viewer is a challenge itself. 
The only way, then, to triumph is to present the viewer with an equally powerful and opposing image,
and suspend the film in moot. Purple achieves that triumph, albeit within the restricted grammar of a
short film.

Purple | Short Film of the Day

The entirety of the plot is a conversation between two siblings, as they scream out each other's secrets to their mother from the terrace of their house. The film ropes in humour and the relatability of a sibling conflict to share its story. What starts off from a pregnancy test, concludes with a piece of cloth marked by its rainbow colours, and the statement they inherently carry within. As the shouting match continues, the secrets seem to be building up to something that would eventually come to alter the tone of the film in a permanent fashion. When it finally arrives, will the characters and the viewer be prepared for it? Secret endeavours to do its bit to normalise queer identities without giving in to sentimentalism or cliches. It weaves its story in a direct manner, along with skilled camerawork and an honesty to storytelling and performance.

Secret | Short Film of the Day

The entirety of the narrative unfolds in the form of a recitation of a letter that a father is writing to his daughter. Gradually and organically, taking its time to come into its own, this narration reveals small, but integral details to the viewer. From a task as mundane as making the morning tea, to a father's disappointment at finding his daughter's room empty, the film uses seemingly inane characteristics of every day life to weave a poignant story. As the letter develops, emotions of regret and guilt as a result of hasty decisions taken out of anger, surface and allow another layer and texture to the narrative. While being a story of societal pressures and shackles, of familial conflict and rebellion, the film concludes with a pertinent social message about acceptance and love, managing to involve and catch the audience by surprise in the process.

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