In its run time of 22 minutes director Adam J Graves subtly touches upon the issue of child labor, however the movie never becomes depressing as the focus is on hope for a better future

Sometimes a short film become a very powerful medium for a director to talk about important subjects. A short movie by nature needs a concise narrative and this can be very helpful for certain directors who aren’t comfortable with the long format of movies and web shows. Anuja directed by Adam J Graves and backed by Guneet Monga, Priyanka Chopra etc has made international waves. Its one of the five movies that has been nominated for the Oscar in the Best Live Action Short Film Category and deservedly so.

The storyline of Anuja streaming on Netflix focuses on two sisters Anuja (Sajda Pathan) and Palak (Ananya Shanbag). Both work in a government factory of Delhi. Things take a dramatic turn when Anuja is given an opportunity of life time due to her strong mathematical skills. It sheds light on the dilemmas faced by Anuja of wanting to break out of the social hierarchy while making sure that she is also able to survive. Through this tale of two sisters the movie gives a glimpse into the dark underbelly of child labor. The movie also takes digs on the nature of matrimonial ads where the focus is always on fair skinned brides.

The best part of Anuja is how it highlights the struggles of marginalized children. Their desires of going to school clashing with the necessity of earning livelihood. This has come out well in the dilemmas faced by both the sisters particularly Sajda Pathan.

The characterization of the government factory supervisor as the calculative villain may across as too predictable but it mirrors the harsh reality. Another striking aspect of Anuja is how it looks at the idea of stealing from the perspective of the downtrodden.

The idea of stealing is generally termed to be bad but sometimes the downtrodden are left with no other option. The exploration of the morality concept in today’s world has come out strongly through this angle. A particular mention must be made of the scene where Palak steals a left over cloth for a reason. She questions the supervisor on why her thieving of left over garments is such a crime.

Both the child actors Sajda and Ananya Shanbag deliver very good performances making the viewers believe in the deep love that the sisters have for each other.