My take on infidelity is completely different, irrespective of gender. You wander for a while and I am gone forever – this is how it will be for me and till I watched this short film, I always felt that this is how it should be for everyone else, as well. There shouldn’t be second chances when one partner is already out of the relationship, knowingly or unknowingly.
Single Jhumka is different. Here, infidelity wasn’t about sleeping with another person. It was about the realisation that something has died in the relationship. This realisation can come in any form, at any time, anywhere. Maybe when you are with a friend and you feel a sudden attraction towards him/her or you don’t miss your partner anymore. You might want to be alone rather than spend time with your boyfriend/girlfriend/better half.
The good part sometimes – mind you, SOMETIMES, is that though the spark dies, the love doesn’t. When you have already spent a lot of time together and slip into a comfort zone where you start taking each other for granted, unknowingly, you stop being there for each other. Maybe because you know that the other person isn’t going anywhere, anymore. That ‘you are here forever’ makes you put your relationship on a back burner and focus on other things – career, family, friends, and everything else under the sky.
When you get busy with life and stop enjoying smaller things in life; life exhausts you – emotionally, mentally, and physically. That is when you start seeking love and support again. And then you hold any hand that is available. Not because you don’t love your partner anymore but maybe because you miss a loving presence which your partner might fail to offer at that time. Reason? Remember slipping into the comfort zone and taking each other for granted? Yes, for that exact reason. Less important stuff becomes more important than the person you love as you believe he/she will always be by your side.
To wake you up from deep sleep, something needs to happen that feels like a tight slap on your face. You realise that you might just lose the love of your life. And you decide to hold it tighter this time.
In this film, that tight slap is infidelity. Ashima sleeps with her colleague-cum-friend while already in a relationship. The next morning, she meets her boyfriend, Suhail, and tells him that she cheated on him. It disturbs him but he doesn’t react badly. Both the partners go their way only to have an honest conversation about their relationship the same night and get back together to give their relationship and fading love a second chance.
What I loved the most about this 23-minute short film is the treatment given to this otherwise debatable subject. It has been handled very maturely. The way this story is told, you are left with no other choice but to simply sit back and think about different phases of a romantic relationship and yes, also a human being’s emotional needs. When these needs are not met, everything starts falling apart. If you are smart enough, you will ask yourself if you really want it to fall apart or want to rebuild what you had once constructed with unconditional love.
Streaming On: Amazon miniTV
The Digital Popcorn 
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