In the face of all misogyny, sexism, classicism and women themselves participating in patriarchal oppression, it's a glass of juice which will become an agent of protest. The short film is the story of one evening and how that in itself is sufficient to delineate the normalisation of women's marginalisation. However, one day, when a woman decides to stand up and question it, will she be allowed the space to do so? Juice is a wholesome and skilful product which questions the grossly imbalanced gender equations. Shouldered by the most stellar performance by Shefali Shah, the film is undisputedly a very relevant, subtle and poignant piece of art on gender.

Juice | Short Film of the Day

Many have attempted tying poetry with visuals to drive home a message, yet very few succeed as gloriously as this short film by Roshnee Desai. The storytelling progression adopted by the narrative goes on to prove that irrespective of how old the story is, the manner of telling it makes all the difference. Another strength of the video is how it invokes in the viewer the memory of several impeccable video treatments that came before it - from Arctic Monkeys' Do I Wanna Know to, closer home, Kalki Koechlin's Noise. However, at the same time, it manages to stand out with its very own intrinsic uniqueness. If it can be said in fewer words, it should be said in fewer words, and Cover Up goes ahead to prove how magical this formula can be when used skilfully. There is a reason why the subject of the film has not been mentioned so far in the review. Simply put, it's just another product that talks about the patriarchal oppression of women, in both overt and inert ways. But that's not what the video (or this review) is about. It's about the power of art and the extent of its impact. Full points to Desai for using this for its full potential while making the whole process look effortless.

Cover Up | Short Film of the Day

The oppression of patriarchy spreads far beyond affecting any single gender, and often finds echoes in ideas of male sexuality itself. The short film foregrounds the same point through its engagement with homosexuality in rural India. It is powerful in this exploration and presents the viewer with a poignant narrative. A boy grapples to ascertain his equation with his brute of a father who is cruel to him as well as his mother. Simultaneously, he finds comfort in a lover and best friend. However, since the relationship does not subscribe to a heteronormative idea of gender and sexuality, it is doomed to meet an ugly end. The film also attempts and succeeds at a moving portrayal of homosexuality in a small village where the monolithic idea of masculinity reigns free. The visuals are further imbued with a gravity and stillness that serve to make the narrative deeper. The performances are notable as is the storytelling, enabling the film to successfully convey all that it had set out to at the start.

Kohrra | Short Film of the Day

The short film is essentially a conversation between two women who sit across each other as equals in a static, wide frame that serves to further accentuate this equality. However once you enter the universe of the film, you realise that they are far from being equals, separated from each other on the basis of their social location. Yet the two have managed to achieve a common plane as married women. Delivery Girl is an exploration of internalised patriarchy and how sometimes the biggest instruments of it are women themselves. It further draws attention to the fact that women are not the only victims of it, but men too suffer under a patriarchal set-up. Additionally, it reminds the viewer that gender equality is not an ideology to be believed in as long it's convenient to do so. The two women, played convincingly by Vaibhavi Upadhyay and Krutika Deo, communicate all of this to the viewer through a single conversation. However, despite being written beautifully and effortlessly, the predictability of the plot becomes a weakness of the film.

Delivery Girl  | Short Film of the Day

The Indian familial space is often fraught with disagreements, a constant power tussle between the parents and their children, and the latter's attempts to reject this dynamic. Additionally, these differences are intricately tied with both oppression as well as love and care, making the situation even more complex, ensuring blurring of neat categories of affection and intolerance towards one's way of life. The film is a powerful exploration of all of this. It further offers an impactful interpretation and its own unique portrayal of the same. Viewers are introduced to two parallel plot lines, of past and present, along with a simultaneous unfolding of events in both to communicate the film's intentions in a notable manner. At its heart, the story is one common to many households - a young woman deciding to break away from the strict code of conduct set in place by her father to eventually embark upon a life of her own choosing. And yet, the manner in which it is handled and treated by the film allows the story to stand on its own two feet, without letting it have echoes or influences of the narratives before it. The major body of the drama develops around a table with a fan on it, earning the film its title - a metaphor about the two opposite sides on which the two couples sit, along with the distance between them. It is also the performances of the same characters which steal the show, effortlessly carrying the entire film on their shoulders. As for the fate of this family, when all has been said and done, will there ever be the possibility of a space of acceptance? Will familial love truly be able to conquer the divisions set in motion by human-made identities?

The Table Fan Story | Short Film of the Day

‘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 importance of art, if it intends to be the fountainhead of societal change, is its ability to simplify and put forth complex ideas, intricacies and nuances of our lived reality. Raja Beta succeeds precisely in achieving that, in holding up the mirror to the patriarchal oppression and discrimination in Indian society. Coupling animated visuals, devoid of clutter or garrulousness, with a skilled, lucid and comprehensive voiceover, the film puts forth its narrative, one that questions an Indian family's biases and hypocrisy manifested in the manner in which they raise their sons and daughters. The film further calls out internalised misogyny and perpetration of rape culture that we often encourage unconsciously in our day-to-day lives. Its message is shared with the viewer in no equivocal terms, allowing the film to be a relevant and much-needed comment on our deeply flawed approach in understanding and handling gender.

Raja Beta | Short Film of the Day

There are very few films in the independent space which have perfected the craft of the short film, and this one
is certainly one of those. It is based in a realistic film mode and yet, is wholly complete in itself, unlike projects that seem like part of a longer product. Everything one expects from a feature, is achieved by it. 
Kaanapedatha Malakhamar is a story of a father and his daughter, navigating their way during a pandemic. With each small interval,
the film brings the viewer new information which completes the picture, the larger vision. The art
direction is fantastic, the actors are most competent, the screenplay and cinematography are as good as
married to each other. With a form so evolved, the film still packs punches as larger social comments.
Highly impressive work.

Kaanapedatha Malakhamar | Short Film of the Day

Indian customs are often deeply-rooted in patriarchal traditions of an age long gone by. Problematic at their core, they are also employed by men to deprive women of agency and the ability to take their own decisions, or even perform important actions, as is true in the case of our protagonist. 

A woman who had left her hometown of Varanasi to move to London, returns for the last rites of her beloved grandmother. Even though the women of the household welcome her back, the patriarch of the family, an uncle, blocks her way at every step. After a refusal to be allowed to perform the final duties for her grandmother, she takes it upon herself to make him see the folly of his ways. 

It is through her attempts to keep pushing, even in the face of all opposition by the men who remain custodians of power that they not only want to assert, but also maintain in a patriarchal society, that the film presents its intentions to the viewer. The arguments it makes, eventually adopting a notable poetic voice for the same, are pertinent. However, the narrative could have gained from a little more ease, effortlessness in its development. It chooses strong actors, but deprives them of an organic pace for the story.

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