Paakhi Tyrewala’s short film KAJAL is a great story depicting the struggle for survival and transformation of a woman from the constant subjugation in a male-dominated society.
The film talks about confidence, empowerment, and the need to assert the rights of women, even at some point the need to express rage.
From the very beginning, we get the sense that it is going to be a female-oriented story. It is also a character study when we look at the protagonist (played by Salony Luthra), a regular woman, who stays under subjugation by a male-dominated society until the day of her realization.
She is under constant fear from her abusive husband and at the same time she is clueless to deal with her office life, where she has a boss who pays no attention to her job and keeps her waiting for his approval signatures on routine paperwork; and then there are individuals (male) with their lecherous eyes.
KAJAL takes the turn when the protagonist finds an abandoned package at a bus stop which acts as the turning point in her life. The content in the package helps her in finding her confidence back and imagining the ways she always wanted to live and be herself without any social binding or fear.
The short film has a great story to tell that has been cleverly narrated with situations that make the scenes tense and suspenseful. Nevertheless, KAJAL is the reality as, after many decades of modernity and development, Indian women still find themselves trapped under ludicrous expectations, social norms, and the new socio-economic order. Self-realization is the key, which the film shows in the end.
Where to watch the short film KAJAL?
The film is available for viewing on Pocket Films’ YouTube channel:
Here are a few other short films based on issues related to Indian society in general.
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