Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
What if your only companion was the view outside your window? – filmmaker Anhad Mishra asks the viewer and then answers the question through his short film ‘Khidki’, starring Naseeruddin Shah.
The veteran actor plays Suresh, a retired man living in a small one-room apartment by himself, but with a huge window that lets him see the vibrant world around him: young lovers taking selfies, puppies playing around, moms picking up their kids from school, and what not.
Khidki starts on a super nostalgic note, with a young man who works for Suresh as his house help putting on a cassette tape to play music. Viewers born post-2000 might not even recognize the device, and that serves as a subtle visual metaphor for how disconnected Suresh is from present times and the next generation. His son lives with his family in a different city, and Suresh refused to move in with them because he didn’t want to leave the house he spent most of his life in. There is visible resentment on both sides over this.
Clearly, the creators wanted to show what happens to elders in the family when they’re left alone. It’s a scathing criticism of ‘youngsters,’ although quite frankly, Suresh seems to be partially responsible for his plight—but that’s really not the mudda of this short film. The main theme is the loneliness, isolation, and loss of hope that come with age and the steady loss of close family to death, distance, and time. So, Suresh’s khidki is his window to the world, and when the owner wants him to shift to a new place, that world is at stake.
A little over 15 minutes long, Khidki is fueled by Naseeruddin Shah’s poignant acting. If you’re looking to watch something over your tea break, it’s a good option to stream online.
Watch the short film on YouTube.
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