David Mamet has said, ‘a good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue.’ Maasa is a good example of it. No, this short film isn’t without dialogues but the key storyline is narrated without dialogues.  

Beautiful stories are found in daily lives. This is true when it comes to Maasa. We see so many women like Ketaki around us who are struggling to make ends meet after the sudden demise of their husbands. Their entire lives start revolving around work and one thing that is common in most of these women’s lives is that they look grief-bound. If by any chance, they smile, it’s always a half-hearted curve. One additional responsibility that is enforced upon them is protecting themselves from sexual predators. Maasa tells you a story of one such woman (who is in so many ways representing other women in similar situations) 

But for Ketaki, there comes a ray of hope when a new customer comes with a request to deliver his tiffin. When Ketaki’s mother-in-law pays no heed to his request, he starts visiting them regularly to pick up the tiffin. Once Ketaki sees him taking care of his sick father which is why he wanted the tiffins to be delivered. This middle-aged man is living alone with his father and is also his caretaker. Ketaki is in a similar situation. She lives with her mother-in-law along with her son. This new customer who bonds well with her son and is a gentleman from whom Ketaki doesn’t have to protect herself all the time is a welcoming change in her life. 

What’s the beauty of Maasa? This emotional connection that develops between Ketaki and this new customer is simply emoted. No dialogues have been used to express their growing fondness for each other. The only communication that happens between these two is when he writes Ketaki a small note appreciating the taste of her food. Ketaki carries that note with her wherever she goes. But when her mother-in-law finds it and asks her about the ritual that is to be carried out for her dead husband, it breaks down Ketaki.

From here, I won’t give away the story. With absolutely no dialogues used to establish a bond between the customer and Ketaki and then to show us the new side of her mother-in-law, again without any dialogues is what good cinema is all about. 

Hats off to Phulwa Khamkar, the Director, for pulling it off so well. To tell a simple story so effectively is truly an art. 

When a cast Amruta Subhash, Jyoti Subhash, and Sandesh Kulkarni come together to work on a script written by Sandesh Kulkarni itself, it would have been a disappointment if this wouldn’t have turned out well. Again, thanks to Phulwa for doing justice to this script. If I am not wrong, this is her first directorial project and she has done a fab job with this one.