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An elderly Parsee woman and a young acid attack survivor are unlikely characters that come together in a heartwarming short film that speaks of the human connection.
When brickbats hit us, all that we look for is some kind solace to soothe the wounds. To lift our morale, love may come flowing in from the most unexpected corner. Praise and encouragement can work like alchemy to guide us along the right track in life. Directed and written by Adeeb Rais, the short film Aunty Ji, streaming on YouTube, is based on such a premise.
Thanks to a chance encounter, Parveen and Geetika, two complete strangers, come face to face one morning at a medical store. It is a day of firsts for both.
An aged Parsi widow who lives all by herself, Parveen wants to get a tattoo on her arm in remembrance of her departed husband. For Geetika, it is her first day at work, and she is in a hurry to reach the office on time.
Geetika enters the store because she needs change to pay the exact amount to the cab driver. Parveen offers the money to Geetika who refuses initially but agrees when she gets Parveen’s address to return the amount later.
The day does not go smoothly for Geetika at work. The office environment is rather toxic, and she does not get positive vibes from any of her colleagues.
It is not easy for Parveen either. She has a chat over the phone with her son, and it does not end on a pleasant note.
After work, Geetika makes her way to Parveen’s home to return the money she had borrowed. She stays back for dinner, and they open their hearts to each other. Watch Aunty Ji to find out what transpires from this conversation between the two!
With the caliber of an immensely versatile actor like Shabana Azmi, we cannot expect anything less than a master-class performance. She essays the role of Parveen with the utmost grace, and you fall in love with her character instantly. The part of Geetika is played by activist and acid-attack survivor Anmol Rodriguez, and she brings in depth and dignity to her role.
Given the limited span of time in this short, the chemistry between the characters shines through and strikes a chord with the viewer.
The film encapsulates life lessons on the theme of positivity. Life can never be easy with its jolts and bumps, but grit and determination help to cross the hurdles. The message that rings in the movie is that endurance is the key to surmounting all barriers in your path.
Nurturing our dreams and seeing them come true give a new meaning to our existence. What makes life more joyous, invigorating, and worth living is when we have the tenacity and the courage to turn those aspirations into a reality. This is the gospel that emerges from Aunty Ji.
A quote by Eleanor Roosevelt beautifully summarizes how we need to embrace life: “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.”
Embedded in fine layers of optimism, Aunty Ji brilliantly reinforces this line of thought. The film is definitely a must-watch!
Rashmi Bora Das is a freelance writer settled in the suburbs of Atlanta. She has a master’s degree in English from India, and a second master’s in Public Administration from the University of read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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