The short film is a fresh and endearingly humorous take on the sex life of a middle aged couple, played beautifully by Neena Gupta and Jackie Shroff. Along with the convincing performance and chemistry of its two protagonists, the film also has wonderful writing and effortless comedy timing. When Girdharilal stumbles across a pair of handcuffs in his son's room, it triggers an entire conversation on BDSM and kinky sexual preferences between him and his wife. Roopmati, who has recently read Fifty Shades of Grey, has lots to say on the topic to enlighten her husband. As the two attempt to rekindle their sex life and one interruption (read: mishap) follows another, how will the night eventually unfold?

Khujli | Jackie Shroff, Neena Gupta | Short Film of the Day

The short film is a nuanced and skilful portrayal of how humour can be found even in the most tragic situations. Along with being a subtle but impactful comment on gender, it also shows the struggle of straddling modernity and tradition. Khatoon Ki Khidmat shows a newly-married woman refusing to have sex with her husband until he gets her a television set. The husband, on the other hand, is struggling to get his father to accept his wife and their marriage. As the characters fight it out, the narrative draws attention to familial dynamics and the location of a woman in a patriarchal household. The film is funny, engaging, insightful and a reminder of how the biggest battles of life are waged in the smallest moments.

Khatoon Ki Khidmat | Short Film of the Day

People often make the mistake of associating gender sensitivity with a particular class or group of people. However, this short film goes to prove that being respectful and non-discriminatory isn't really the question of what language you speak or where you belong. The film opens on the wedding night of a young couple, clearly inexperienced in sex. It wonderfully encapsulates their hesitation and nervousness with much credit owed to the writing as well as the performances of Saurabh Goyal and Preety Sharma. While the boy seems to be infatuated with the new bride, his parents' have very different concerns. The short film attempts to call out regressive and demeaning practices that are often enforced in the name of tradition. It also draws attention to the manner in which it affects the mental health of women and young brides across the country.

Seal | Short Film of the Day

The short video takes you into the attempts of a group of teenaged boys who are trying to buy porn from a local store. It's endearing and would be relatable for many regarding their own struggles of coming to terms with their sexuality and finding a space for it in their immediate lived reality. The short video serves as a teaser for the Tamil film Super Deluxe which is the story of loyalty, sexuality and gender, among other things. The video is funny, crisp and is shot within a tight physical space which helps to accentuate a sense of tension of the young boys, confined within the expectations of society, yet attempting to break out of it through a rebellious act of procuring a CD of pornographic content.

The Struggles of Buying Porn | Short Film Nominee

The short film opens with a woman at a bar, drinking to get over her cheating boyfriend. She soon meets a handsome stranger, played by Sudhanshu Pandey. The Bar progresses to reveal how the protagonist likes to hang out at bars, meeting young women. He's got it all figured out, the formula works every time. Women come and go and that is the end of the story. However, not this time, not when there is a truth that is waiting to be unearthed. As he approaches yet another unsuspecting woman at a bar, a ghost from the past lurks at the door. This offering by Aneeta Patel attempts to weave a mysterious narrative and keeps the audience guessing till the very end. But will the short film provide all the answers? Watch to find out.

The Bar | Short Film of the Day

The irony of India as a nation is that we need to speak about sexual and reproductive health as an urgent, most pressing need of the hour. And yet, we continue to pretend, behind the shadow screens of propriety and tradition, already languishing under the oppressive burden of patriarchy and orthodoxy, that no one is having sex in this country. Be it married couples, young lovers, the middle class, the urban upper class and anyone else between and beyond, we are still unable to find that space where we can openly discuss sexuality and all the decisions that surround this vast territory. Consequently, India remains a nation not only marked by the staggering size of its population, increasing at a breakneck speed by the hour, but also by its frustrating shying away from any measures to address it. The film is a conversation around the same topic, taking the viewer into the life and experiences of a regular Indian household marked by its lack of knowledge and awareness of contraceptive methods like condoms. As the patriarchal head of the family struggles with a box of flavored condoms he has chanced upon, the family too gets pulled into the rigmarole of confusing them with candy. The narrative handles it all with ease, ensuring there is never a dull moment, as the taut plot parodies, informs, entertains and educates, all in a single endeavor.

Death by Condom | Short Film of the Month

The short episode of perhaps a longer series begins with a peak, provocative moment. A woman finds out that she is pregnant, and it is not
a desirable circumstance for her to be in. Her prayer, which was more like a bait, a transaction she
offered to god, is rejected. With an opening like that, the viewer is already pulled in. We want to know
what happens next. 
But what soon unfolds is something that the usual viewer is not used to - none of the routine, boring, or
sad responses take place here. It is an urgent, peak,
moment and the narrative cannot waste its precious screen time on something pointless and drag. So,
neither does the woman break into a meltdown into the washroom cursing all her life’s decisions which
brought her to this point. Nor does she get dramatic with a monologue of her looking into the
mirror, bellowing, her eyeliner washed down. It doesn’t happen in this story because this is not how
women in the position that the character represents, react. There is no air of shame in the narrative. 
It would really be tempting for a show that begins with such a thumping to go down the lane of
melodramatic elements to want to keep up with the high pace it sets for itself, but it’s refreshing that
the show transcends that trap. 
So, the woman does what anyone in her position would do, she calls up her girlfriends for advice. The
perspectives that emerge from that video conference are all reasonable and sensible, and rational - as opposed to the over-the-top, excitable, or sloganeering dialogues that are given to women
characters on screen today. The women in this show talk the way ‘normal people’ talk with no one trying to
outsmart the other, but each one responding to the situation as is. This restraint in the narrative is more
interesting than what the characters say. 
In a scene, the woman who is pregnant, in the middle of all the chiding by her friends, breaks into
reminiscing the sexual memory of the act – all believable and funny! There are several such moments in
the episode.

Strapless | Short Film Nominee

The short film transitions beautifully from being an innocent love story to one marred by complications and misunderstandings. An encounter between two strangers leads to a kindling of emotions inside a young chemist. He watches her from across the counter of his shop as she comes everyday and always asks him the same question, "Do you have change?". What seems to be a potentially sweet love story has an unpredictable twist waiting right at the corner. Watch this Aghaaz production to find the narrative unfold in the most unexpected manner as the protagonist continues to grapple with his notions of love.

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