Art in Indian Cinema has been a rare thing, the whole of the industry is ruled by mainstream capitalists and hence every week we see one to three mainstream films releasing. When it comes to art cinema, it is quite on a decline, maybe only three to five films every mid-year. The last such film which was on an impressive note was the 2015 film Court directed by Chaitanya Tamhane. The film with its metaphorical ending explained the slow procedure of the law in one of the biggest democracies of the world. The film majorly highlighted freedom of expression as its theme.
Court marked the name of Tamhane in the Indian film industry and soon he will be returning with his film titled The Disciple. But today we will be introducing you all to the short film made before Court by Tamhane which was titled ‘Six Strands’. Six Strands follows the story of a woman owning a tea plantation in a place named Khagambari, producing the world’s most expensive tea. She safeguards the secret recipe closely while her employees are oblivious of its worth as they are paid a little for the job, and consider her a cruel witch who controls not only the plantation but also the entire population of this land. Even this land has its own currency which bears her indelible image.
All the year she waits for the season of tea plantation and spends her time tasting the quality and ensuring its worth. The conflict arises when the workers start rebelling against the working system as they learn about the word ‘exploitation’ but the lady opts for a shutdown of the whole year which affects the families and their living. Soon, the workers are back on work without any further demand as they need only survival.
This 15 minutes short film might seem slow but as it paces further, the story has a lot to say standing out as a relevant film even today. The film indirectly becomes a political thriller aiming up to make a change.
Do watch Six Strands, Available on Vimeo.
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