Tithlee looks at color shaming effectively

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In his second short film within three months, Tithlee, actor-producer Namashi Chakraborty tackles another social problem after his debut venture, Bahar Aa Chaman Prakash. The word, Tithlee, which means a butterfly in Hindi, is spelt that way probably for luck (phonetically, it should have been spelt ‘titli’ or ‘titlee’). But it is a simple story that underscores our color prejudices, so rampant even today. A multi-billion fairness cream industry represents how our views are still ‘colored’ about the human skin’s complexion!

Ankush (Vaibhav Joshi) has a dark-skinned girlfriend, Yamini (Arpita Srivastava), who he introduces to his mother Reema (Padma Damodaran). He has loved her for what she is and has not even noticed her ‘color’. Reema too likes her, but when they have to introduce his matrimonial choice to their kith and kin, she wants to present her would-be bahu in a ‘fair’ (pun intended!) manner, as society always evaluates people on the basis of their skin color. Ankush rebels against this very idea, but Yamini, who has experienced such discrimination even at her workplace, understands. And while Ankush curses ‘melanin’, the skin pigment that colors us all, his mother too has had a past experience about this, which is why she fears that her future daughter-in-law will go through what she did.

Happily, unlike Bahar Aa…, this 10-minute story ends on a positive and happy note. A slide informs us about how a butterfly is beautiful despite its earlier avatars.

Padma Damodaran steals the show among the three main actors, though Arpita Srivastava also makes a mark as Yamini.. But Vaibhav Joshi’s performance needed to be more fluid and effective.

The concept is by Namashi Chakraborty, and the script and direction is by first-timer Swapnil Raje, who has had a distinguished career as writer and editor in a key publication. The brevity of the film indicates a promising talent, who can communicate a message in a minimal time. The sensitive situations, especially where we get a glimpse into Reema’s past, or the final scene between Yamini and her, both demonstrate a helmsman who knows how to touch the right emotional chord without either going overboard or seeming too terse.

Overall, this is another praiseworthy effort from MYRND Movies and team, and a seasoned debut from a new director.

MYRND Movies’ Tithlee  Produced by: Namashi Chakraborty  Written & directed by: Swapnil Raje  Starring: Vaibhav Joshi, Reema Damodaran, Arpita Srivastava & others