Rimi is a short film on the mundane life of a housewife directed by this 22-year-old Hyderabadi youngster

Mothers and housewives in films are meek goddesses who are either placed on a pedestal and worshipped or are superheroes. They are only portrayed in extremes and there is no in-between. But where is the everyday woman whom we see in our own homes? The mothers who put their children first and sometimes, don't have a minute to themselves. This is the kind of woman that is the protagonist of Nischhal Sharma's graduation project film, Rimi. She is pursuing her Master's in Film Direction from MetFilm School, London and currently, the pandemic has brought the youngster back home to Hyderabad. "I was toying with many ideas, including making a film on the sex workers of London, but when I came home during the pandemic, I started thinking more and more about the representation of mothers and housewives in mainstream cinema. The daily struggles of the housewives are absent, which is why I decided to focus on this," says the 22-year-old. 

Behind the scenes | (Pic: Nischhal Sharma)

The post-production is done and all that is left is poster-designing and colour grading and though they are going to get past the finish line in about a month, the youngster started a crowdfunding campaign on Milaap so that you can help them cover the costs of all the efforts they have poured into the project till date. "I understand that the film might not necessarily have commercial value but since I made the film independently and took it up as a challenge, I thought it might be wise to reach out for help. I understand that the pandemic has left us with more pressing issues to donate for, but people can crowdfund for my project whenever they are comfortable, it’s open," she says. The crowdfunding campaign's goal is to reach Rs 4,35,000 to recover all costs they have put into this passion project.
 

Along with a producer and a cinematographer who are her friends, Nischhal intends to start a collective or a company of their own    

While the idea of the script dawned on her in July last year, Nischhal had to get through seven drafts before actually finalising it and taking four days in October to shoot the film. "The film depicts one day of mundanity in a housewife's life and how when it starts to rain, she realises it's been 20 years since she first danced under dark, grey clouds," explains the director, calling it a slice-of-life film. They are hoping that they will soon send the trailer out to various Indian and international festivals and once it does the rounds of the festival circuit, they would like to release it to the public towards the end of 2021. The movie is a simple story, as simple as our lives. "For the housewife, it was all about deciding whether she should dance in the rain or not. Similarly, one small step can change things," says the youngster.

Shooting in the rain itself was difficult, plus working with a large crew of about 35 members and a larger budget definitely kept me on my toes

Nischhal Sharma, Filmmaker 

Women telling women's stories comes true in this film! "I believe that though there are empathetic and intelligent men out there who can portray real women, the authenticity comes only when it comes from a woman," says Nischhal.

The crew | (Pic: Nischhal Sharma)

What you get when you contribute 
- Rs 500: Copy of the film before its release
- Rs 1,000: Poster and copy of the film pre-release
- Rs 5,000: Personalised Rimi diary, poster and film
- Rs 10,000: Storyboard, diary, poster and film
- Rs 20,000: T-shirt, storyboard, diary, poster and film
- Rs 50,000: Associate producer credit with all of the above

Nischhal's body of work 
- Ahana: On cyber-bullying
- Uncle, Do Chai: On the love for tea
- Scars: A visual poem on domestic violence  
- Genesis: An ad film for a London-based theatre

For more on it, check out milaap.org/fundraisers/support-nischhal