Synopsis
Shwet Rakht (White blood) raises the issue of gender inequality. The short film highlights the issues on two fronts where girls are mistreated – malnutrition and infanticide. The short film is about a young poor girl Gudiya. Also, it is about her expecting mother. Through their eyes, we see the ill treatment of girl. The short film ends with a blood-curdling irony.
What Works
The best part of Shwet Rakht is its over-arching theme. While many of us would be aware of the twin discrimination against girls, connecting them with a common theme was a masterstroke!
The short film’s music is also done well. Mostly Indian instruments are used, which not only add more authentic rustic feeling to the short film, but also add to the expression of feelings. Though I fear that it adds too much at times!
Shwet Rakht also has a memorable performance form Dr Vidhu Saxena in her role as Gudiya’s mother.
What could have been better
Despite its pluses, we must say it upfront – Shwet Rakht is not great. It could have been better on all fronts. Or, you can say that it goes over the top on all departments. We are mentioning two major disappointing ones here.
First, the idea of using milk as an unifying theme is praiseworthy, but Shwet Rakht has excessive dramatization. Some of the dialogues which are used to show Gudiya’s cravings for milk are almost ridiculous and a very long stretch of imagination. In fact, if you would look closely, they are contradicting another shot in this short film itself!
Second, Shwet Rakht has ‘incorrect’ acting except for Dr Saxena and may be, Ms Dhondiyal. By ‘incorrect’, we simply mean the format of acting. The actors has enacted a more theatrical performance, which is very different from a film acting.
As some of you would have experienced, a theatre needs over dramatization from the characters because of the limitations of props, setup and the background music. A great theatre performance is nothing but an overbearing one in a film format. Shwet Rakht suffers from this same over-dramatization through both acting and music.
Verdict
Shwet Rakht is overall a watchable short movie despite its severe short comings. The theme is very good and moves you emotionally.
AglaPlay Verdict: One time watch, raises relevant social issues AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5 Language: Hindi / Rajasthani Duration: ~18 minutes Writer-Director: S. R. Mukesh Co-Writer: Anuradha Malla Cast: Dr Vidhu Saxena (Mother), Jasmeet Kaur (Gudiya), Vimala Dhondiyal (Grandmother), Kunal Shamshere Malla (Birju) & Others
