I have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
Short films have their conventional purpose neatly cut out, that is to present a condensed view of the world in a nifty runtime of less than thirty minutes, sometimes even less. But in a creative landscape of rampant mutation and chain reactions, the best among this lot pack in a punch by showcasing the most meaningful aspects of a particular moment that has the singular power to define us almost collectively.
With quality of the material at its peak, three films from the current quarter express themselves beautifully by corralling that rare force of nature : storytelling vis a vis urgent social representation of issues. So here they are, in no particular order.
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DEVI (2020)
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A group of women belonging to diverse social stratas, age groups and mindsets are huddled together in a room that is tastefully decorated and yet brims with claustrophia, chaos and the unsaid. We feel it is a secret bunker for women and some distressing siren call or back history is the common thread among them. Or maybe it’s a women’s organisation, a conference inclusive of the poorest, the middle class and an educated upper crust , all assembled in this singular space though the seating positions cleverly posits the heirarchy . Tensions, class differences and uneasy humours run amongst them all. Something truly seems amiss and unnatural.
Then facts tumble out and the mood is not one of secrecy anymore as much as one of shared experiences. Each female represents her own ordeal by dint of the males who did them wrong vis a vis their age group, personal affiliation as well as the way they all physically hurt them. From a mute girl to an elderly lady, nobody was spared or ever is in this hegemonic society where truth takes the shape of unholy statistics and is lost too often between the cracks.
DEVI (Goddess) is powerful as it shows how patriarchal values were responsible for bringing these women at the same location and the burden of their individual truths are being broadcast for the larger collective of analysing our rampant brush with sexism and sexual politics, at every possible social juncture.
