Shimmy Review: Shimmers With An Inner Beauty

Shimmy(Amazon; MiniTV)

Starring Pratik Gandhi, Chahat Tewani,Bhamini Oza

Directed  by  Dishna Noyonika Rindani

Rating: *** ½

Shimmy(Amazon; MiniTV): In 22 minutes  of  its playing-time Shimmy says  more  about gender stereotyping than most movies do in  two hours. It is a little gem sparkling with  an inner glow, as it introduces  us to a single father and his growing daughter played with  winsome  sincerity by Pratik Gandhi and  Chahat Tewani .

With arresting austerity  the  short-film directed by  Disha Noyonika  Rindani(who is  clearly a talent to watch)  tells us a universe  of  truth  about  the father’s determination to not  allow his  daughter to miss the absconding mother. Gandhi  will be  both father and mother to his child. He  will cook  for her  and  drive her to school and make  half-joking  silly comments  on  the boy he sees talking to  his daughter in school.

Having a  gone through  most of all this,I can vouch for  the  unallowed  sincerity  and  lived-in emotions of Shimmy.

The real drama kicks in when  the daughter needs to buy her first brassiere. Here is where  it gets tricky for the father who is  embarrassed  at the  prospect of  being  seen in the lingerie section .I remember standing  on a   freezing windy New York street while my  daughter was  inside a Victoria  Secret  shop , until a salesman  saw me and insisted I come in.

I feel for you,  Pratik Gandhi. Every moment of his hesitation and  determination to  overcome his  embarrassment is  real.

At this point  this  shimmering short-film with long legs  pulls  out its most  precious card.The lovely  Bhamini  Oza Gandhi  appears  as a  Guardian Angel, a salesperson at  the lingerie shop who immediately senses  the  problem and takes charge  of  the  girl. By the  end  of  the  bra-shopping stint, the father is  more confident, not only about dealing with his daughter’s adolescent problems,  but also about his own future as a single parent who needs companionship.

Shimmy is  an  important work on  gender stereotyping  . It brought back  fond memories not only from my own life but also from that wonderful short-film Arrey Baba in Marathi where another  very accomplished  actor Sandeep Kulkarni played a rural widower dealing with  his daughter first menstruation.

Shimmy is set in the city. But  trying to live up to your child’s  expectations is a universal issue.Without trivializing it Shimmy keeps the  proceedings bright and  relatable.No parent  should  miss it.