Indian families have loads of little quirks and habits that no one really realises they have until the perspective changes. Nayanika Chatterjee’s short movie, Under The Rug, is all about changing that perspective.
Indian families and relationships are strange and convoluted. They are often based in traditional thought-processes but try desperately to get into the modern way of thinking. This movie is a gorgeous look into a family and the routines and obsessions that develop over time.
The shared experiences of almost everyone who has lived middle-class tends to deal with certain common themes. From morning chai to making pakodas when it rains, every family has some routines that are hard to break.
Image Credit: Instagram/isthisart_
Animator and illustrator Nayanika Chatterjee believes that Under The Rug’s theme is family, routine, and deep-seated patriarchy. She says, “The routine propagates patriarchy and oppression and the family fails to acknowledge it. This cycle keeps repeating itself, from start to finish like a loop.”
From women being in charge of the food while the men read newspapers to covering up undergarments as they’re hung up to dry outside, we all have lived through the little things that are depicted in the movie.
Image Credit: Instagram/isthisart_
At every Indian home, there are small routines and practices which go unnoticed, but it is an experience every woman goes through. Nayanika says, “I developed the idea after observing certain happenings at home that were part of this unsaid routine.”
This movie takes all these small things and humorously changes the perspective, so that we are faced with what we have been avoiding or overlooking for so many years!
You can watch the whole movie here.
Image Credit: Nayanika Chatterjee
During Covid, a lot of us have come back to our homes. Staying at home is like taking a walk down memory lane, but with new eyes. We see and understand so much more as adults. The same things that happened in the house when we were kids now take on a new meaning.
The artist’s inspiration also comes from shifting home after a long time living apart from family. “Due to Covid, I returned home and took to observational drawings. I drew whatever was happening around me–the people, kitchen utensils, the morning tea, the newspaper,” she says.
Image Credit: Nayanika Chatterjee
Under The Rug, is a wonderful peek into everyday family life and the patriarchal structures that still invade women’s freedom. As Nayanika Chatterjee says, “there was a certain standard of decency that I highlighted in the film–it was easier to cover up things than have others talk about it.”
Let us hope this film helps us all uncover the conversations that we have been avoiding for so long in our homes!
Social and lead image credit: Nayanika Chatterjee
