Eye For Film >> Movies >> Anuja (2024) Film Review
Anuja
Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

“Once upon a time there was a farmer who lived with his wife, daughter and a pet mongoose,” Palak (Ananya Shanbhag) begins. She doesn’t have much to share with her younger sister, Anuja (Sajda Pathan), but she does remember their mother’s stories. These bind the two girls together and bring a little magic to their shanty town home.
Magic like that is important in lives which, at first glance, appear to offer little opportunity. The sisters work in a garment factory, earning barely enough to get by. They have nobody else to look out for them. Neither is inclined to despair however. Palak has a secret and, bit by bit, is trying to built them a future. Anuja, meanwhile, has an unusual ability with numbers. When this comes to the attention of a local educator (Gulshan Walia), she is offered the chance to sit an entrance exam which could give her access to a formal education, changing everything. Factory owner Mr Mishra (Nagesh Bhonsle) sees another use for her skill, however, and with Palak’s future also at stake, she has a difficult decision to make.
Shot in Delhi, sometimes guerilla-style, this Oscar-shortlisted short film has an edgy quality throughout. Its two young stars hail from the streets themselves, though by the time she came to the role, Pathan had already appeared in one feature film. Her sharpness, her poise and her very direct gaze suggest that she will quickly find her way into more. Alongside the excellent performances is an immersive portrait on the city itself, from the crowded factory to the busy streets, the sleek spaces where tourists shop and, in one delightful moment, its oldest surviving cinema.
We meet the city and its inhabitants in a distinctive way. Here Anuja’s perspective comes first, and although we see the girls struggle, we also see their agency, their humour and their wit. They read marriage adverts together and Palak teaches her sister a healthy scepticism about men. These are not helpless creatures in need of rescue; they are capable individuals who only want for opportunity. Whilst the film has some very specific points to make, it’s the personalities that will stick in your mind.
Reviewed on: 21 Jan 2025