Natkhat Review: Vidya Balan's Short Film Is An Aching Reality Of Our Patriarchal Society

It might be the 21^st century that we are living in, but violence on women is far from being over. That is not it, most of the times, victim blaming is what we come across, because well ‘men will be men’. It’s how a man is, you know, so women should mind themselves, isn’t it? Natkhat is a story of this violence, of how rape culture is perpetuated when what seems to be ‘harmless fun’ or ‘natkhat shaitani’ is not kept under check.  (*Some spoilers ahead, move with caution*)

The story revolves around a kid, who is yet to learn the table for 7, but thanks to the company of some grown up boys with devious plans of ‘ladki ko utha k jungle le jayenge’, he learns this concept. When one of the girls in his class slaps a boy, he passes his knowledge of ladki uthana. These four kids pin a girl down, take out a scissor and then do not know what to do with that. As you gape in horror, you realize what they might grow up to be, even within a few years.

Think about this- the child even mentions this entire exercise that he had done in front of his family at the dinner table, and when his father gets up to hit him, the grandfather very coolly dismisses it off as ‘boys will be boys’. That’s when you know how deep the problem learns. It then falls on his mother to teach him the lesson and how she does it is what makes this one of the most compelling and beautiful short film you will see in a while. (*spoiler ends*)

Natkhat, as mentioned, definitely has to be one of the best short films you have seen in a while. The 33 mins film gives a horrific look into the rape culture that runs deep in the society and how it is nurtured from an early age, through dismissal and by calling it ‘harmless fun’. It is when a boy uses his cuteness to steal a dupatta and then wraps it as a prize to become the hero in his peer group that you see realize about the inherent problem. It is when a kid says ‘who ladki hoke ladke ko kaise maar sakti hai, usko toh sabak sikhana hi tha’ that you know how gender discrimination gives rise of evil. It is when you realize that the father who wanted to school his child for ‘ladki uthana’ comment abuses his wife, physically and sexually, that you realize how men perpetrate violence and objectify women.

The acting is the best bit here. Vidya Balan is seamless as a housewife and a mother who faces oppression daily. But probably the best person to watch here is Sanika Patel, who plays the character of the little boy. The cinematography stands out and is definitely worthy of applause.

This one is unmissable!