Just Like That (Aise Hee) by single-named director Kislay, delves into how women are put into boxes – that they are homemakers and wives and nothing else – while men are the superior race and can get away with anything without embarrassment.
The film follows the life of Mrs. Sharma (portrayed by Mohini Sharma), whose husband just passed away, after 52 years of marriage. Wanting to stretch her wings she begins to do new things. She has a henna tattoo done on her hand, learns how to embroider, walks by herself and meditates by the seashore instead of attending her regular exercise class with the same older people. Mrs. Sharma creates a bond with Muslim tailor Ali (Mohammed Iqbal) and his niece, spending more time in the mall than the temple, she goes out for ice cream, opens her first bank account, gets beauty treatments and spends time with a salon girl. Ultimately, she becomes the fodder of gossip mills in the little town of Allahabad.
The movie shows how difficult it can be for women who do not conform to pre-established expectations. Mrs. Sharma’s newfound independence threatens her son Virendra (Harish Khanna), his wife (Sadhna Singh) and their children – Vinny (Saumya Jhakmola) and Vicky (Shivam Sharma) – who pressure her “to just become like grandma.” The family members shame her for doing her own thing and not conforming to social norms.
The daughter-in-law in particular resents the fact that her life has ended up as the “maid” of the family, catering to the whims and caprices of her husband and children. She is somehow jealous of how Mrs. Sharma is able to escape from the traditional expectations of women and do what she has always loved to do and be free.
Written and directed by Kislay, this is his debut feature film as a director. The Delhi-based director studied filmmaking at the Film and Television Institute of India. Last year, he wrote Soni.