The unending Indian housewife grind—Renuka Shahane's Marathi film Loop Line shows the trap
'Housewives provide for their families, day in and day out, without any reprieve and without receiving any gratitude. It is almost an automated life, and that's why I wanted to use the local train as a parallel to a housewife's routine,' said Shahane.
The family lives by the train tracks, and Shahane uses the monotonous regularity of the Mumbai local to highlight the mundane existence of the unnamed stay-at-home wife. Her labour is taken for granted, dismissed as duty. Loop Line is an acknowledgement of the emotional abuse that unfolds in a marriage. It's slated to be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on 21 June.
New Delhi: A middle-aged married woman offers tea to her husband in the morning. But his only reaction is an irritated grunt as a train rumbles by. This scene sets the tone for actor-director Renuka Shahane's animated Marathi short film Loop Line .
That is also the reason the Marathi title of the 8-minute film is Dhawpatti, which refers to a parallel track or runway.
Abuse need not be physical, and that is the movie's message. Shahane has never shied away from uncomfortable topics. Her directorial debut, Rita (2009), looks at the physical manifestation of the emotional labour women are expected to do in relationships. Her 2021 movie Tribhanga explores intergenerational trauma.
Loop Line, too, holds a mirror to Indian society. The director's choice to use animation was deliberate.
'Since animation does not have real people, there is a certain distance so that one can be objective, and at the same time, be involved,' said Shahane, whose favourite animated films include Kung Fu Panda series, Ramayana: the Legend of Prince Ram (1993) and Bao (2018).
When writing the script, Shahane initially planned to use animation only in the scenes where the wife escapes into her fantasy world. But as the idea progressed, animating the entire film was the natural course of action.
'We rarely use animation to explore mature themes. We either use it for children's films or mythological themes. So, I thought why not try it, because we tend to have less bias when it comes to animated films,' said Shahane.
Also read: 'You've put on a bit of weight though'—how this film on mother-daughter bond begins
Dreamland of pakoda brain
In Loop Line, the woman goes through her daily, ceaseless routine of cooking, cleaning, and cooking again. In between, there are fleeting moments where she gets lost in a fantastical world.
The smoke from her husband's cigarette morphs into a dancing girl. She imagines floating in a pond full of lotus flowers while reading a magazine. For her, fantasy is a quiet rebellion against the monotony imposed on her life.
'In the film, the protagonist has been reduced to being an observer of her own life, without any agency. So, she expresses herself through her dreams. In her fantasies, no one can come in and judge or abuse her,' said Shahane.
This dream world she escapes to only underscores the reality of her life. In one scene, her husband brings home three colleagues for drinks, without informing her. The men indulge in sexist chatter, gossiping about a man at work, who, they suggest, may have gotten a promotion in exchange for sexual favours from his wife.
'Even our boss turned out to be lecherous,' says one of the men, and just at that moment, the wife's pallu drops. While she hurriedly adjusts it, the husband looks at her with visible rage.
Just as her husband starts berating her in front of his coworkers by calling her a 'buffalo', the woman escapes into another world where she's seen cutting up a human brain. Her fantasy world is not one of rainbows and unicorns.
She imagines the pakodas as parts of her brain that she is frying for the raucous men seated outside.
'I wanted to show how she is not required to use her brains, because all that is expected of her is her body and food. I wrote the scene with the character's anger directed at self, that even if she stands wounded, all the men would want is the food made by her, and not care about her,' said Shahane.
Film festivals and funding
The movie features actors Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar and Anand Alkunte, who play the husband and wife, respectively. The two actors performed as the main characters in the previsualisation stage. The animation team then developed the film based on the scenes acted out by them.
Animation was a new medium for Shahahe, and she took her time learning and unlearning the process, figuring out the colour palette, and lighting in both the pre-animated and animated segments.
Loop Line has been screened at international festivals like MONSTRA Lisbon Animated Film Festival and the Thessaloniki Animation Festival. The film also has won awards for its storytelling, animation, and themes at both the Tasveer Film Festival and the Mumbai Short Film Festival.
But when Shahane started out, she could not find a producer to back her film. Soumitra Ranade, founder of Paper Boat Studios, whose company handled the animation of Loop Line, even warned Shahane that she would never be able to recover the money. Eventually, the director decided to produce it herself, and the final budget turned out to be Rs 20 lakh.
'The most surprising yet fulfilling reactions came from men, who shared how they could relate to the film, and what they had seen in their own homes, especially with their mothers,' said Shahane. The director is now writing the scripts for her next two films, one is a dark comedy, and the other is a drama on racism.
Shahane is waiting for the run of film festival screenings to end before trying to release Loop Line on any platform.
'If I don't find any other platform, then I will release it on YouTube for free. The main purpose was never festivals, it was always about people getting to watch my films,' she said.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Remember Frooty from Son Pari? Here's how she looks now, know what she's doing these days
For every child, nostalgia hits hard when they catch glimpses of shows like Shakalaka Boom Boom, Shararat, Shaktimaan, and more. Among those, there was one serial that was widely loved not just by kids but by adults too! It was none other than Son Pari. Premiering in 2000, this fantasy drama blended magic, innocence, and life lessons, transporting its audience into a world where fairies were real and anything was possible. The series became a crowd favourite. While many in the cast were adults, do you remember that little girl who played Frooty? Yes, the girl who was always seen with Son Pari, played by Mrinal Kulkarni. Do you know what she's doing now and what her real name is? Let us tell you — the name of the child actress who played Frooty in Son Pari is Tanvi Hegde. Tanvi's innocent look and cute smile left an indelible mark on the audience. The characters of Frooty, Son Pari, and Altamash (played by Ashok Lokhande) were loved and are still fondly remembered by viewers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tanvi Hegde (@tanvihegde) Son Pari made her a household name, and following that, she became a well-recognised face and even acted in several films. Tanvi's popularity soared, and she became one of the most loved child artists in the advertising industry. She worked in more than 100 TV commercials. Unlike many child artists who gradually fade away, Tanvi successfully ventured into regional cinema, especially Marathi films. She gave stellar performances and won audience herarts for her work in movies like Shiva, Athang, and Dhurandhar Bhatwadekar. Despite receiving a lot of love, Tanvi distanced herself from the industry. She last featured in marathi movie Alipt in 2021. Since then, she has maintained a low profile. Tanvi is also not a social meida enthusiast and stays away from everytype of limelight.
The Print
5 hours ago
- The Print
The unending Indian housewife grind—Renuka Shahane's Marathi film Loop Line shows the trap
'Housewives provide for their families, day in and day out, without any reprieve and without receiving any gratitude. It is almost an automated life, and that's why I wanted to use the local train as a parallel to a housewife's routine,' said Shahane. The family lives by the train tracks, and Shahane uses the monotonous regularity of the Mumbai local to highlight the mundane existence of the unnamed stay-at-home wife. Her labour is taken for granted, dismissed as duty. Loop Line is an acknowledgement of the emotional abuse that unfolds in a marriage. It's slated to be screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on 21 June. New Delhi: A middle-aged married woman offers tea to her husband in the morning. But his only reaction is an irritated grunt as a train rumbles by. This scene sets the tone for actor-director Renuka Shahane's animated Marathi short film Loop Line . That is also the reason the Marathi title of the 8-minute film is Dhawpatti, which refers to a parallel track or runway. Abuse need not be physical, and that is the movie's message. Shahane has never shied away from uncomfortable topics. Her directorial debut, Rita (2009), looks at the physical manifestation of the emotional labour women are expected to do in relationships. Her 2021 movie Tribhanga explores intergenerational trauma. Loop Line, too, holds a mirror to Indian society. The director's choice to use animation was deliberate. 'Since animation does not have real people, there is a certain distance so that one can be objective, and at the same time, be involved,' said Shahane, whose favourite animated films include Kung Fu Panda series, Ramayana: the Legend of Prince Ram (1993) and Bao (2018). When writing the script, Shahane initially planned to use animation only in the scenes where the wife escapes into her fantasy world. But as the idea progressed, animating the entire film was the natural course of action. 'We rarely use animation to explore mature themes. We either use it for children's films or mythological themes. So, I thought why not try it, because we tend to have less bias when it comes to animated films,' said Shahane. Also read: 'You've put on a bit of weight though'—how this film on mother-daughter bond begins Dreamland of pakoda brain In Loop Line, the woman goes through her daily, ceaseless routine of cooking, cleaning, and cooking again. In between, there are fleeting moments where she gets lost in a fantastical world. The smoke from her husband's cigarette morphs into a dancing girl. She imagines floating in a pond full of lotus flowers while reading a magazine. For her, fantasy is a quiet rebellion against the monotony imposed on her life. 'In the film, the protagonist has been reduced to being an observer of her own life, without any agency. So, she expresses herself through her dreams. In her fantasies, no one can come in and judge or abuse her,' said Shahane. This dream world she escapes to only underscores the reality of her life. In one scene, her husband brings home three colleagues for drinks, without informing her. The men indulge in sexist chatter, gossiping about a man at work, who, they suggest, may have gotten a promotion in exchange for sexual favours from his wife. 'Even our boss turned out to be lecherous,' says one of the men, and just at that moment, the wife's pallu drops. While she hurriedly adjusts it, the husband looks at her with visible rage. Just as her husband starts berating her in front of his coworkers by calling her a 'buffalo', the woman escapes into another world where she's seen cutting up a human brain. Her fantasy world is not one of rainbows and unicorns. She imagines the pakodas as parts of her brain that she is frying for the raucous men seated outside. 'I wanted to show how she is not required to use her brains, because all that is expected of her is her body and food. I wrote the scene with the character's anger directed at self, that even if she stands wounded, all the men would want is the food made by her, and not care about her,' said Shahane. Film festivals and funding The movie features actors Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar and Anand Alkunte, who play the husband and wife, respectively. The two actors performed as the main characters in the previsualisation stage. The animation team then developed the film based on the scenes acted out by them. Animation was a new medium for Shahahe, and she took her time learning and unlearning the process, figuring out the colour palette, and lighting in both the pre-animated and animated segments. Loop Line has been screened at international festivals like MONSTRA Lisbon Animated Film Festival and the Thessaloniki Animation Festival. The film also has won awards for its storytelling, animation, and themes at both the Tasveer Film Festival and the Mumbai Short Film Festival. But when Shahane started out, she could not find a producer to back her film. Soumitra Ranade, founder of Paper Boat Studios, whose company handled the animation of Loop Line, even warned Shahane that she would never be able to recover the money. Eventually, the director decided to produce it herself, and the final budget turned out to be Rs 20 lakh. 'The most surprising yet fulfilling reactions came from men, who shared how they could relate to the film, and what they had seen in their own homes, especially with their mothers,' said Shahane. The director is now writing the scripts for her next two films, one is a dark comedy, and the other is a drama on racism. Shahane is waiting for the run of film festival screenings to end before trying to release Loop Line on any platform. 'If I don't find any other platform, then I will release it on YouTube for free. The main purpose was never festivals, it was always about people getting to watch my films,' she said. (Edited by Ratan Priya)
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Reema Lagoo's ex-husband Vivek Lagoo dies at 75, daughter Mrunmaeyee pays tribute
Veteran Hindi and Marathi actor-director Vivek Lagoo died on the evening of June 19. He was the former husband of the late actor Reema Lagoo. Though the two had separated, they shared a cordial bond until Reema's sudden death in Lagoo's funeral will be performed at the Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai on June 20. Their daughter, Mrunmaeyee Lagoo, who has carved a niche for herself in the film industry, survives the an Instagram post, Lagoo paid tribute to her late father, writing, 'We fought together long and hard, but now it's time to say goodbye with love and gratitude. MY DAD! My best friend, my guide, my number one fan, and the voice in my head I will miss you the best dad a girl can have.' Take a look at the post here: Mrunmaeyee has worked as a writer on the acclaimed film 'Thappad' (2020) and the Netflix series 'Scoop' (2023).Vivek and Reema first crossed paths at a bank in 1976 and got married two years later. Their shared passion for films and theatre brought them together. Vivek was a well-known name in both Marathi and Hindi theatre and cinema, contributing to several notable projects such as 'Ugly' (2013), 'What About Savarkar' (2015), 'Godavari Ne Kay Kele' (2010), and '31 Divas'(2018) among others.
