Atul Mongia’s Short ‘Awake’ Captures the Loss of Companionship

Note: This review may contain spoilers

There’s an alluring stillness to Atul Mongia’s short film Awake, starring Ishika Mohan Motwane as the protagonist Sameera in a complicated relationship with her vegetative partner Vikram (Yudhishtir Urs). The 23-minute film premiered on YouTube as part of the We Are One film festival and is available for streaming on YouTube for the next seven days.

Stories about caregivers are not easy to represent on screen for the simple reason that the magic lies in the writing. To accurately capture the relationship between a caregiver and a person with a disability, one needs to be able to bring out the precise details that comprise their universe. It requires empathy and patience. This is perhaps harder when you’re making a short film - where you have so much to say about something so uniquely complicated in so little time.

Produced by Vikramaditya Motwane, Awake begins with the protagonist Sameera at a photoshoot where she’s working with a couple. There’s slow movement on the screen, and Sameera’s eagerness to wrap up work and head home is contrasted by the idle chatter of those around her. Once home, her loneliness becomes more palpable as we’re introduced to the albatross around her neck - her vegetative husband Vikram.

The life of an unpaid caregiver is certainly a lonely one and Sameera tries to fill that space with Vikram’s stationary physical presence.

She doesn’t just change his clothes and keep him clean; she also interacts with him. Late-night cuddles before falling asleep, a painfully silent birthday celebration, a night of watching television - Sameera is trying to hold on to Vikram as much as she can but we’re not sure why.

Mongia gives us glimpses of Sameera and Vikram’s life before things changed for the worse. It’s not much, but enough to understand that their marriage, like most marriages, was dictated by patriarchal conditioning and norms. Sameera, at best, looks unhappy with Vikram in the past. It’s clear that it isn’t Vikram she’s holding on to; the companionship, the familiarity of being with someone who knows you and whom you know.

While Sameera’s moments with Vikram are painfully fascinating, the former’s inner conflict is beautifully portrayed by Ishika Mohan Motwane. The fluidity and ease with which she depicts Sameera’s dilemma of wanting to move on but still feeling tethered by the guilt of giving up on her husband are beautiful to watch.

Awake has a haunting ‘still-life’ kind of feel to it. Not much happens in the 23-minute duration and yet so much is expressed through the mundaneness of Sameera’s life. It’s a meditative experience bound to leave you appreciative and curious about what it’s like to suddenly wake up to a life you never signed up for in the first place.

You can watch the film here: