Director Anshuman Chaturvedi’s short film Haldi is currently streaming on OTT. He says that the film reflects the right of a woman to protect herself and to say no.
“When a woman goes through such ordeals, she gets scarred for the rest of her life. In the majority of cases, close relatives or family members make the woman a victim and victims are silenced either by the situation or the fear of shaming by other members of the family itself. So, it's a trauma caused by those who are supposed to balm the wound. In my film, the protagonist Pallavi stands for herself and a poetic justice is meted out to the predator. We can say the short film Haldi is the celebration of all women and their rights to say no,” he says.
He adds, “Post A for Antara, I wanted to do a female-centric subject which deals with women battling the issue of sexual abuse back home. It's far easier to exorcise the ghost of a public place than one hiding behind the curtains of a house. I had heard so many real-life incidents from close family and friends and coming from a Hindi heartland where patriarchy dominates everything, I knew this issue and felt it must be addressed through a sensitive story. When I narrated Haldi to Aarti Singh, it was a mere coincidence that she said she would do the film as she herself was a victim of this problem.”
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Apr 2, 2026Talking about the title, he says, “The title addresses the entire story itself as Haldi is the most desired and auspicious occasion of a woman's life and when this very moment becomes the moment of torment then there's something deeply wrong with the situation.”
Meanwhile, the director adds that he wants to helm more of such films. “Of course, I want to address so many societal issues through sensitive films. I don't want to preach but I want to present a perspective which is moving and spotlighting the problem,” he says.
