We as a nation have come a long way past colonial era with slavery and servitude been abolished legally. But they still continue to resurface in different forms be it the bride child trafficking. Young girls and women are still sold as commodities for prostitution and child brides to older men. The mainstreaming of these pervert tendencies has led to grave injustice towards children for sex trade under the garb of marriage from impoverished areas of India and across the borders. We get a closer look at this dark reality in Karan Singh Rathore’s short film Paath –the Lesson, which has received accolades at many international as well as national film festivals. The film headed by the superbly talented Jackie Shroff, Sara Arjun and Abhilash Thapliyal is receiving lot of praises since it was uploaded at the directors official YouTube channel.
The film raises pertinent questions on the gender imbalance in north Indian states mostly. The male Chauvinism finds a reflection through the hard hitting dialogues in the short film. The film narrative is divided into five lessons with each one representing a metaphor. The 12 year old Kamli (Sara Arjun) is a character torn between two aged men, Ramvilas (Abhilash Thapliyal) and Kesar (Jackie Shroff). The short film does make an important commentary on how the oppressor and the redeemer may be from the same social structure but humanity is what separates them.
The film was also screened recently at Red Bulb Studio in Mumbai among cast and other film personalities. The film had already garnered rave reviews from all quarters. What is most appreciable is when mainstream popular actors like Jackie Shroff lend their support to such cause and sensitive issue that deals with our society at large. That will give a boost to the indie film culture. Karan Singh Rathore as a director deserves full credit for dealing with the sensitive topic very maturely and extracting good performances from all. Karan Singh Rathore has previously written solo and additional dialogues for films like Mary Kom, Akira, Gangubai Kathiawadi and the most awaited web-series Heeramandi. The market of Short film is ever expanding and audience support is the key element in this times.
