‘Tabula Rasa’ is marked by a very singular voice when it comes to storytelling. The story it shares is pronounced in the title itself, the idea of a blank slate. However, what goes on the slate makes all the difference. 

A family of four battles financial instability, and the tribulations that follow in its wake. Amidst it all, the sound of a television set remains a constant companion for the children as well as their disgruntled father. The mindless, mute consumption of everything that it offers influences their lives in an unalterable and irreversible manner. 

The film, thus, also offers social commentary and the many ways society can be molded by the lies and illusions we are peddled on screen and in media. Violence, accidents, loss, and tragedy become inadvertent components of this reality, and the film presents a competent endeavor to explore the same.

Tabula Rasa | Short Film of the Month

The short film opens on a harmless note, a man asking his domestic help to fetch him ghee from the kitchen. However, before the viewer can write the scene off as a mundane occurrence in a regular Indian household, the unease of the help is made clear. She is distracted and lost, perhaps preoccupied with something darker and more disconcerting. The plot develops to reveal a lovely juxtaposition of privilege and deprivation, of a cushy urban existence that talks of slight weight gains and lazing around the house, alongside a migrant labourer crisis of a country that battles a pandemic. The contrast is foregrounded in a potent manner, allowing the film to succeed at putting forth its concerns notably before the audience.

Brouhaha | Short Film Nominee

The film aims to draw a contrast between the haves and have-nots by juxtaposing two scenes against each other. First, we are presented with a dinner party. The setting communicates some of the many ways in which a person’s location in society insulated them against the ravages of the pandemic. While one is a scene of abundance, the other is a suggestion of another reality where sustenance and nourishment are extremely scarce. A character on the table remains more disconcerted than the others at the awareness of this fact. Our characters are not devoid of a conscience, or at least some sense of moral responsibility, and yet, they remain notably protected in their lives. It is only when the film presents the second scene, devoid of any dialogue, that the juxtaposition is complete. If the premise is explored further in more detail in future works, it would surely serve to enhance the storytelling established in the current narrative.

Ahare | Short Film Nominee

The nature of violence that women face on the basis of gender is rampant and prevalent and takes
many forms. The film makes a commentary on how this violence is perpetuated in both public and private spaces, at home and in the world, in ways that are extreme as well as those which are not explicitly visible. 
From being born a girl, to becoming a mother herself, there are several instances of oppression that a
woman is subjected to. The film seeks to advocate to put an end to the cycle of injustice and violence on
all levels, and also the silence around it.

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