COVID-19, a time in the digital age of human history that brought the entire world to a standstill. Taking pride in our technological advancements and trying to come up with ways to make the world more efficient from coming up with faster learning to faster-eating techniques to ensure maximum efficiency of human resources. In 2020, at the peak of hustle culture came the biggest pandemic in the digital age that brought the world to a standstill. A pandemic that reminded people that staying at home is equally important. But what about them for whom the outside world was the escape as the home was equivalent to hell? It’s the tale of these domestic violence survivors that often goes unheard in the growing anxiety over the virus, and the short film Ek Chup brings exactly that to light.
Ek Chup: A Closer Look
Directed by Sonya V. Kapoor, Ek Chup tells the story of the thousand unheard and silenced voices due to domestic violence all across the world especially during the pandemic. Starring Mona Singh, the film, Ek Chup perfectly captures the growing anxiety because of the uncertainty surrounding the the virus mingled with the daily anxiety one feels around the perpetrator of domestic violence.
The plot of Ek Chup works brilliantly to convey the message that a perpetrator is a perpetrator regardless of his educational qualifications and literacy level. The misconception that it’s only the poor and the illiterate that often unleash violence upon their spouses is beautifully contradicted by the film. Ek Chup also subtly highlights the pressure that the doctors went through during the pandemic to keep up with the increasing number of patients. But by making both the perpetrator and the victim of domestic violence doctors, the film also hints at the fact that work pressure because of the pandemic is not an excuse to be violent, especially in a domestic space that is considered a space for respite.
The biggest plot point that makes the entire film a masterpiece is the continuous focus on the phrase “Ek Chup, Sau Sukh” (Silence is Golden). From gestures to continuous reminders to posters around the house, Ek Chup as a film ensured that the film’s main idea was understood and rather ingrained in the viewers’ minds. The ending of the film plays a huge role in making the film a masterpiece. However, it is worth pointing out that the idea that it was set during the time of the pandemic needed to be conveyed better as there were instances where the COVID-19 protocols were broken during certain plot points like towards the end which sort of took away from the core idea which was domestic violence at the time of the pandemic. But otherwise, it is a rather well-written and executed film.
Afterword
In this post-pandemic era where we are trying our best to return to a “normal” life, Ek Chup acts as a reminder that let’s not normalise everything and take a vow of silence when raising our voice is the need of the hour. Silence may be golden, but not when it comes at the cost of one’s basic right to live with dignity as then gold is nothing but a shiny metal that is worthless as there will be no humans left to attach value to it.
