This is not a life she has experienced, yet Renuka Shahane can feel an empathetic connection with the housewives around her, who even if proud homemakers, are eventually drained by the everyday drudgery of mind-numbing chores. If they are also caught in a loveless marriage that eschews dialogue and brings only disrespect, their lives parallel Mumbai’s lifeline, its local trains, which chug on the loop everyday with clockwork efficiency, unappreciated, till the system collapses, throwing our lives out of kilter.
Siddharth Mukerjee
“Loop Line is the first script I’ve written which is far-removed from my own world but still resonates, not just with me, but audiences across the globe,” says Renuka, reasoning that it’s because patriarchy is universal and insidious, paying lip service to equality, but leaving women to shoulder domestic responsibilities alone. “Those who lack the courage to walk out or even hire help, can only escape their dreary, claustrophobic existence through fleeting fantasies, some surreal, some spine-chilling. Their imagination helps them preserve not just their spirit and sanity, but also voice a silent rebellion.”
This animated Marathi short film which Renuka has not just written, but produced and directed too, has been accepted by almost all the prestigious festivals she applied for, winning awards for Best Animation and Best Short Narrative Honorable Mention at Tasveer, the only Oscar qualifying South Asian Film Festival. It was screened at the New York Indian Film Festival on June 21.
Loop Line Still 1 |
Like her earlier directorials Rita and Tribhanga, the actress-filmmaker started out thinking of Loop Line as a live-action feature, but while writing, realised it lent itself better to animation since she would need visual effects anyway to convey her protagonist’s fantasies. “Also, I wanted this woman, whom I don’t even name, to be a reflection of many lives lived and not associated with a particular actor,” she explains, elucidating that animation engages the heart and intellect simultaneously, so it can draw the audience while ensuring they view the proceedings objectively, like her protagonist who sees her life play out in front of her eyes.
“After years of being disrespected in her marriage, she has stopped reacting, knowing it will only bring more negativity, and throughout the film, wears a singularly neutral expression and utter not a word, simply observing and absorbing everything, occasionally letting her fantasies take her away from the monotony and gaslighting. All this, I felt, could be expressed beautifully through animation which is why I decided to doff my hat to an art I already loved,” she avers.
However, when she quizzed Soumitra Ranade, an old friend, on the process and commercial prospects of animation in India, the co-founder of Paper Boat Design Studio with whom she went on to collaborate, warned her that it was labour intensive and expensive. Usually associated with children’s films and mythologicals, the possibility of finding buyers for such a dark and mature subject was bleak. Despite his words, Renuka decided to go ahead with her passion project, investing her own money in it.
Delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Loop Line flagged off in 2023, and despite being just eight minutes and 18 seconds, took a year-and-a-half to complete. “Since I went into it alone, I had full control, but unlike live-action features where machines, other than the cameras, come into play only during post-production, in animation, they are a part of the filmmaking process. So, though I was the director and the vision was mine, I had to wait for the hand-drawings to be designed and sent to me. “It definitely made me more patient, a learning process that has helped me evolve as a filmmaker,” she smiles.
Loop Line Still 2 |
She’s waiting for the film to complete its festival run, before pitching it to distributors and channels. She doesn’t want this exciting journey to end and is ready with the script of her next animated film. “It won’t be easy, but if I can sell Loop Line, I can start my next with the proceeds. It will be on equality and inclusivity, but not as heavy-handed as Loop Line,” she informs, sharing that many filmmakers she met online are shocked that a film like this came out of India, made by someone so warm and homely. “They appreciate the subject, even though it’s an uncomfortable watch, and are impressed with the animation and sound design,” she beams proudly.
Loop Line Still 3 |
When in Seattle for Tasveer, she was encouraged to find viewers make empathetic sounds from the word go, even gasping out loud at certain points, many telling her after the screening that it was too short and she should make a full-length feature film on the same subject. “Running a home is a thankless job, more so when social media has made nitpicking the norm and you are being judged for even a cup of chai. If my stories can make young people feel compassionate towards their mothers and sisters, if they can make us look inwards and evaluate our own behaviour, bringing a change in society’s attitude, it will be a step forward,” Renuka asserts.
Loop Line Still 4 |
How did her actor husband, Ashutosh Rana, and sons, Shauryaman and Satyendra, react to Loop Line? “They loved it, Ranaji was taken aback by the scene where my protagonist fries fritters made with her own brain for her husband and their guests. He’s frightened so many people with his performances that I’m happy I could frighten him this time,” she laughs, admitting that angry with the world for the constant insults and humiliation, and with herself for women being treated as a doormat, this fantasy is a terrifying contrast to the beautiful things she’s imagined before. “But it was necessary, to show my protagonist’s impotent rage and reiterate what I was saying. It’s a festering wound and unless you see it for what it is, it can never heal,” she signs off.
