Netflix India's Take Ten Short Films Reviews -

Netflix India's Take Ten Short Films are streaming on Netflix. The platform has given a chance to young aspiring filmmakers to present their short films, who come from six cities, and whose stories span eight languages. Check out our brief reviews for the Ten Shorts below :

1) HOME :

Home is about a resident tea plantation worker who is forced to choose between keeping her home and saving her daughter from an exploitative and backbreaking labour system. Aditi Sharma's Home is an artistic short with a lot of frames and silence, which speak more than the dialogues. The short falls slightly short on the topic as it dangles between feminine points of view and oppression issues. We have seen many such tales, so it doesn't excite you much in that sense, but yes, as Aditi pointed out, every time you drink tea, you will be forced to think about the plantation workers and their struggle in remote places.

RATING - 3/5*

2) SALT :

Barkha Naik's Salt is a salty subject with a bittersweet taste. The salty thing here is sex, and the bitterness is between the relations of a son and his father. It's the story of a boy who has recently lost his mother, and his relationship with his father is defined by a deafening silence. One day, the boy walks into a pharmacy, and just as he is buying condoms, his father walks in for the same purpose. The awkward silence and movements follow. Can you imagine the level? Salt will make you realise that, and it's stunning in that way. An issue like sex is common between a youngster and a 60-plus person, but hunger is different. Salt differentiates by adding the awkwardness between a son and a father. Once you taste this salt, you'll never have to cook any stories in front of your father.

RATING - 4/5*

3) CHHOTI SI BAAT :

A children-driven classic redefined. I remember watching children-oriented classics from the Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s and then in Bollywood. We are missing them nowadays, if you exclude a few classics like Stanley Ka Dabba, Dhanak, I Am Kalaam, and a recent one like Chhello Show. Hitarth Desai's schooltime tale will add another chapter to the book. This short is a must see for the kids and their parents as well, because somewhere these issues of low class and high class are taught by them to the immature kids. Chhoti Si Baat may be based on a choti si baat, but it is indeed a big issue and gives a big message. Don't miss it!

RATING - 4.5/5*

4) BIJLI :

Manasvini Boovarahan's Bijli is a lightning strike of poverty causing distances between a mother and her little daughter. Gajamathi is an immigrant worker from Bihar who lives in a small shack in the construction building along with her mother Shanti and her 3-year-old daughter Bijli. After a small fight, Bijli goes missing, and Gajamathi gets restless. This somewhat reflects her earlier actions and regret, which is a universal emotion. The mother-daughter story is filled with subtle emotions and definitely ends on a granny-level climax. The last frame is certainly going to leave you stunned.

RATING - 4/5*

5) STOCKHOLM :

The lockdown, the kidnapping, and a human story with diverse effects. Stockholm is a hilarious short at first. It makes you laugh out loud with organic human movements and conversation, but then it leaves you with a "smile full of emotions" at the end. Mural Krishan's kidnapping drama is somewhat similar to the Tamil comedy Soodhu Kovvum (2013), but is set in lockdown with different subsequent actions. Murali's story is all about comedy, humour and human drama. Three fearful goons kidnap a 60-year-old man named Viswanathan, who is living a reluctant life in a kind of solitude because his own family doesn't care about his existence. With those 3 kidnappers, Viswanathan finds home and friends, and vice versa, from their side because they are trapped with him due to lockdown. As a whole, a fun riot with heart in the right place.

RATING - 4/5*

6) HOME 2 :

Another kid-friendly classic for parents. Ria Nalawade's Home 2 is ahead of time—by how many years, I really don't know. A 7-year-old girl is gifted 'Happy Glasses' by her father, and she starts enjoying that imaginative world to stay away from the regular ruckus between her parents. One day, she is unable to recognise her own mother and father, which leads them to discover her mental status from a therapist. More than the girl, it's a wake-up call for the couple, and it's beautifully shown with the reference to their maid and her house in the slum. This may be your or your children's story in the future, so stay awake.

RATING - 4/5*

7) LOKKHON REKHA :

Rohan Chowdhury brings that behind-the-doors Laxman Rekha into the light with a father and son's story. Suman is a young man living with his family in a cramped middle class house. Troubled by frequent taunts from his unsupportive family members, especially his father, he attempts to take his own life. Yet, his father is more concerned about other properties than the life of his son. Lokkhon Rekha is that standard line between those two and how it keeps family members apart from each other. You might find yourself and your father here in this home.

RATING - 3.5/5*

8) SOUL-KADHI :

One of the most fascinating titles out of all those 10 stories, and one of the most fascinating stories too. Based on the Marathi tradition of Shraaddh, Soul-Kadhi is a fictional tale, with many realistic shades. A daughter-in-law starts seeing the soul of her mother-in-law at night, and they realise what's haunting them both. Secrets are spilled, lessons are learned, thoughts are exchanged, and solutions are found during these meetings that will set them both free. Watch out for the final song there, it's an absolutely haunting melody with undying salvation.

RATING - 4/5*

9) SCREEN :

Sandip Anbuselvan's version of Cinema Paradiso (1988). Soon after Pan Nalin's Chhello Show, we have another story about the love of cinema, and this one is quite unpleasant on occasion. A little boy, who loves watching cinema on the big screen grows up with the dream of becoming a filmmaker whose film will be shown on the same screen. But is it that easy? Was that easy for the filmmakers whose films you enjoy watching on the big screen? They might have unpleasant experiences and unbearable moments in life to bring a smile to your face when you watch the film on the big screen. That's the main essence behind Sandip's screen.

RATING - 3/5*

10) SADA BAHAR :

An ode to the brass band members who are vanishing like sparrows nowadays. One night, when they find themselves falsely accused of robbery, the band members of Sada Bahar, a wedding brass quartet from UP working in Goa, have to decide between pursuing a livelihood as outsiders in Goa and returning to the lives they left behind in their villages. Their meeting with a hotel owner changes a lot of things for them and for the narrative. If you understand the meaning of the silence there, you're in for an 'Evergreen' show.

RATING - 3.5/5*