The conversation the film invokes is compelling, poignant, and handled with the utmost sensitivity. 

At the film’s core is the urgent demand for the rights and safety of India’s domestic workers. Though their official registered number within the workforce is four million, the film asserts them to be somewhere around 80 million unofficially. While the #MeToo movement, also the source of the film’s title, might have remained confined mostly to the urban, English-speaking upper class, the film and the movement it speaks of, casts a much-needed wider net to talk about workplace harassment for all who work as domestic help in Indian households. 
The message is driven home further by drawing attention to the power and reach of theater that is not only capable of transforming its audiences but also the performers. The result, thus, presented is a well-rounded whole that is assertive, lucid, and impactful in the message it delivers.

Main Bhi (#MeToo) | Short Film of the Day

Kirdaar keeps you on your toes as it builds up to the climax. It's the story of a theatre actor, Aman struggling to grasp a role of a man trying to get in touch with the woman within. As the performance draws closer, this struggle intensifies and his wife becomes the unwitting recipient of the worst of his emotions. But when the performance is finally done and over, is there respite for her? Even if Aman manages to give a good performance, will there be a breaking out of the intensity of grappling with a new role? The film will raise all of these questions in a skilled manner and, at the end of it all, leave the audience more disturbed than they were prepared for at the start.

Kirdaar | Short Film of the Day

The coronavirus pandemic ensured an end to several activities that once constituted a significant part of our existence. One of the worst hit by the lockdown and quarantine were the performing arts, not only causing huge financial losses, but also a deep emotional despair for the artistes involved. The film tips its hat to the same performers, voicing two things. Firstly, that their distress is indeed heard and seen, and second is the sense of hope it wants to invoke for them. The film achieves all of this by portraying a small encounter of a thespian with his physical space of performance. Even though it lies empty and silent now, the memories of the chaos, rush and frenzy of one of the several performances that took place there, bring it back to life in his imagination, finally allowing the viewer as well as the protagonist a quiet closure promised to them at the beginning by the film's title.

Tomorrow, Coming Soon... | 2020 Film Challenge

The short film wants to discuss the paranoia that is capable of worsening our contemporary pandemic-ridden reality and make it more difficult for everyone. This, in turn, can alienate one further from the much-needed hope and positivity to overcome the gloom that has cast its pall over the world in the form of the coronavirus. The plot of the film engages with these concerns by means of a theatre production which is underway. As the actors rehearse lines from Dharamvir Bharati's Andha Yug, a philosophical concern forms the core argument of the narrative - one about the immediate reality that one can choose to bring to life depending on their worldview. A key actor, after contracting the virus, has taken time off rehearsals to complete his quarantine. However, when he still does not turn up after making a complete recovery, things begin to go downhill for the production. While taking all necessary precautions is of utmost importance during this pandemic, there is also a comment to be made about learning to move ahead while keeping up with the times, suggests the film. Irrespective of the side of the argument the viewer would find themselves on, the film makes its position clear, adopting a theatrical and poetic approach to share the same intentions.

Navyug | 2020 Film Challenge

The year 2020 ensured an end, even though temporary, to several forms of performing arts. As theatres were shut down, this most unfortunate development brought with it despair and a sense of despondency that entrenched its roots deep within the heart of those who lived for the stage and all that it carried within itself. The short film employs poetry to portray one such experience. The visuals are marked by the emptiness of a theatre which now lies silent and lifeless, unsure of the path ahead. The voiceover is expert and skilled, and thereby enriches the narrative further, allowing it to communicate its message in a lucid, impactful manner.

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