'Natkhat' director on objective of his Vidya Balan-starrer short film

Director Shaan Vyas has opened up about the objective behind his short film "Natkhat", which revolves around the concept of gender inequality and patriarchy.

The film was by a gender-equal unit including Vidya Balan, child actress Sanika Patel, and writer Annukampa Harsh in its cast and crew.

"When Annukampa and I started writing, our objective and dream was to get the film to every adult in a caregiving position: parent, teacher, etc. Along the way, we were joined in this quest by our wonderful producers, cast, and crew. Toxic masculinity and biases start to creep into a child's consciousness very easily in our social environment," Vyas said.

He said that adults need to be mindful in raising future generations.

"And just like we practice mindfulness in our lives, we feel that adults need to practice that mindfulness in raising our future generation as well. The film doesn't claim to provide a concrete solution, but even if it manages to get people watching it to check and question their own behaviors and entitlement, it will be a small victory for us," he said.

"Natkhat" revolves around a mother educating her son about gender equality. The film is co-produced by Vidya Balan along with Ronnie Screwvala.

The film gives out a strong message regarding gender equality. It premiered on YouTube as part of the 'We Are One: A Global Film Festival' on June 2.

He asserted if adults are careful, then the future generation will be responsible adults. Vyas said: "Even if one in 10 parents takes preventive action at the right time, that's 10 per cent of our future generation raised to be responsible adults."

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