Shalini

The film locates itself in a pandemic-stricken world where a woman struggles to ensure her daughter does not miss her online classes. A smartphone is absolutely imperative for these classes, but Shalini’s young daughter, Aami, has accidentally broken theirs.

Now Shalini struggles between jobs, even at the cost of her own well-being, to ensure that she somehow puts together enough money for a new phone. In the process, not only does the narrative draw a very clear boundary between the haves and the have-nots, but it does so without letting itself get consumed by sentimentalism.

Inherent to the narrative is also the idea of the many sadnesses that we carry within. For some, it is the struggle to make ends meet, for others, it is being stuck in an oppressive job where you can only nod and suffer in silence at the hands of a cruel boss, and for yet another, it is the longing and memory of a lost loved one. Aami, the little daughter, too, notices the sacrifices her mother makes while putting on a brave face all along, and it is primarily this courage and perseverance of character that the film preoccupies itself with, in a sincere, devoted manner.