Shimmy Review: An entrancing & fiddly coming of age tale touching upon taboos ft Pratik Gandhi & Chahat Tewani

Writing & Direction: Disha Noyonika Rindani

Producers: Guneet Monga and Achin Jain

Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Bhamini Oza Gandhi, Chahat Tewani

Platform: Amazon MiniTv (Shopping App)

Stars: 4/5

Do you remember, being a girl, the last time you had an open conversation about shopping for innerwear with your dad? Well, just like most of us, your answer would also be 'Are you mad? Why would I have a chat with my dad about shopping for innerwear?'. Here's where Guneet Monga and Achin Jain backed short film, 'Shimmy' steps in and brings to us an awkward yet much-needed shopping spree tale of a father, who is struggling in the absence of his wife; and a young daughter, who is struggling to come to terms with puberty. 

Starring Pratik Gandhi as Amol Parekh and Chahat Tewani as Raima Parekh, Shimmy is a sweet and relatable tale of a father and daughter who are growing up in their own way. The short film begins with a peculiar dance step called 'Shimmy' being taught to young kids at school and Raima feeling awkward amid her classmates to dance to those steps. As the tale moves on, we get to know that Raima's awkwardness stemmed from her consciousness about her developing bosoms and the lack of a bra thereof. Due to self-consciousness, she's willing to cancel her plan to attend a birthday party. It is there where her dad Amol, Pratik steps in and tries to have the 'conversation' with his little girl. What comes next is an awkward yet refreshing innerwear shopping spree that we never thought we'll get to see on Indian screens.

'Shimmy' happens to capture the sense of how in Indian households, a female talking about her issues like buying a bra or discussing periods with a male member is considered taboo. The short film, written and directed by Disha Noyonika Rindani, manages to take that subject up and place it in a setting where a female figure is absent and it's just a father and a daughter, who have no choice but to 'really grow up' together. The movie also highlights the obvious yet little details about the female choices through an amazing soundtrack 'Chodo yeh haath mera, Aag Mein Khadi huyi' playing, as the plot moves on, trying to capture how all women only wish to feel 'free' at the end. 

Talking about performances, Pratik Gandhi as the orthodox yet willing father is brilliant. He perfectly captures the hesitancy and confusion of a father who must have the 'grown up' talk with his daughter about her physical development with age. At several moments in the film, you will relate to him. He plays the conservative, orthodox dad, worried for his daughter when a boy hands over a letter to her and giving her a deadline for a birthday party as he doesn't want to sit with other mothers and wait for her. But, in the end, he ends up turning into a confidante for his daughter and gives her the faith with his actions that she can tell him anything. After Scam 1992, Pratik steps into a much simpler and relatable universe with Shimmy and manages to leave you impressed. 

Coming to Chahat Tewani, as the young girl, who is seeing her body develop into that of a teenager, she captures the awkwardness and insecurities quite well. Her eyes and the silence speak more than anything else in the scenes where she is just observing other girls in her school or when she can't do the 'Shimmy' step with her classmates. She also displays a bit of a feisty vibe when she blurts out the reality of her father and mother's broken marriage to a saleswoman casually. 

A special mention also needs to be given to Bhamini Oza Gandhi who is seen as Sheetal, the innerwear saleswoman who helps Raima in selecting the right first bra for her. Bhamini, as the enthusiastic yet empathetic saleswoman, is refreshing to watch. Her sweet interaction with a father, who is shopping innerwear with his daughter for the first time, is captivating and it leaves a lasting impact till the end. 

The strength of 'Shimmy' is the writing by Disha. Not for a second, the main topic of the film is sidelined. It is always kept front and center and Pratik and Chahat's story is built around it. The dialogues and screenplay by Jai Mehta is smooth and slowly build up for the sweet ending. Close-up camera shots of Pratik and Chahat by the cinematographer Jali Cowasji help us to feel the emotions of the characters. The fact that the film is edited well by Viraj Goradia and is crisp, adds to the highlights of Shimmy. Producers Guneet Monga, who won the Academy Award for her film Period: End of Sentence in 2019, and Achin Jain through Sikhya films have surely picked the right tale to be backed in the Indian setting.

For us, what stood out was how Pratik Gandhi and Chahat's father-daughter relationship is kept at the heart of this endearing and relatable tale about the taboo around lingerie shopping. With it, director Disha manages to target the larger subject of the taboo around discussion of women's issues with male members in an Indian family setting. 

ALSO READ: Pratik Gandhi all set for his short film 'Shimmy' to release this month; See Poster