'B Selvi & Daughters' Movie Review

Casting : Kalairani, Gayathri

Directed By : Nil

Music By : Nil

Produced By : Nil

Movies play a very significant role in our society. Mass audiences are somewhere influenced & inspired by the stories.From its early evolution, it has been always portraying men as the protagonist & has suppressed the female characters.But now thanks to regional cinema which is shattering by uplifting the struggle & issues of the women of society. Regional cinema is not only about the content, it depicts the harsh realities behind the women’s struggles, they faced in their daily routines.Stories through regional cinema are just like a gleaming ray of hope for them.

Trying to revamp the conditions of women's struggles for their aspirations in society, Her&Now launched a nationwide competition project for film ideas on the topic of women's entrepreneurship in 2019. From around 100 received entries, the best scripts in the category’s fiction, documentary and animation were selected. The four winning filmmaker teams from Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai have been awarded with a production grant to translate their concepts into four thought-provoking short films. The Her&Now film campaign was kick-started in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a digital premiere of the films on the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, November 19th, 2020. The short films were selected by 17 national and international film festivals – among which the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, New York Indian Film Festival, Arthouse Asia Film Festival – and garnered 5 awards as well as prestigious nominations at the Critics’ Choice Awards.

‘B Selvi & Daughters’ is a Tamil language short 25 minutes fictional movie based on a 50-year-old woman Selvi, who feels lonely & insecure after the passing of her husband & continuously struggles with her saree business.The Character of Selvi’s is very naïve like any ordinary woman who doesn’t know how to tackle the people around her who do not take her seriously.Notwithstanding, she remains very serious about her business & the customers, who ordered sarees during the Pongal festival. But due to the late order deliveries & some other circumstances, she does not fulfils orders & faced the criticism of her customers.

At the very same time her daughter Kavitha, who is into digital marketing & gives financial tips, intervenes & sorts out all the difficulties faced by Selvi.With the help of her daughter, Selvi not only regains confidence in her business but also successfully fulfils the demands of her customers on time.This short fictional movie is a perfect blend of women's struggles, emotions & aspirations.Besides, B Selvi & Daughters, there are three other movies under the Her & Now films project, Kashmakash – The Dilemma, Ritu Goes Online & Pahal -An Initiative, which perfectly depicted women's entrepreneurship. All four short films can be watched on the HumaraMovie YouTube channel as well as on the MovieSaints film platform for free.