From Omeleto.

An Indian woman steals from her in-laws.

STARCH is used with permission from Ajai Vishwanath. Learn more at https://ajaivishwanath.com.

Indira is a young Indian immigrant wife and mother living in Sydney, Australia in the 1990s. She and her family are in a precarious financial situation. Her husband has been looking for work, to no avail, and she’s doing her best to be resourceful and make ends meet, even though the family doesn’t yet have a car.

But her in-laws are also visiting, and she tries to hide the family struggles from them, eating less food so that her mother- and father-in-law will have normal portions to eat while Indira drinks the starchy water from her cooking to compensate. But when her husband hits another disappointing setback, Indira faces a crisis point and must choose between her pride and her conscience.

Directed and written by Ajai Vishwanath, this poignant and personal short family drama combines an exploration of financial hardship and moral choices with a beautifully observed portrait of Australian immigrant life, tracing Indira’s often lonely struggles to care for her family while trying to present a picture of success. Opening in media res with a scene of Indira trying to steal a grocery cart to lug her groceries on a long carless walk home, we’re immediately privy to her struggles.

But the additional pressures of her in-laws — and the way Indira and her husband must present a false picture of success to them — add more to the picture, detailing the emotional toll of financial struggle and Indira’s loneliness through it all. There are moments of levity in the classic set-up of a spouse dealing with the in-laws, but overall, Indira’s emotional journey is a serious one.

Much of the film takes place in the confines of the home, where Indira bustles about, cooking, cleaning and caring for her family as a traditional wife and mother. She often sacrifices her comfort and even food so that her loved ones can exist in comfort and in the illusion that she and her husband are fine. But actor Gayatri Patel Bahl’s subtle but expressive performance makes clear the toll this act takes on her and her marriage, exacerbated by how she hides those struggles to save her and her husband’s pride.

Well-paced and understated in tenor, the storytelling is naturalistic and intimate, putting us in the mind and heart of Indira as she balances the many needs pulling at her. Its approach to developing conflict is more on the slow build-up than a series of explosions, but that more psychological approach helps us feel the weight of a quiet but major decision on Indira’s part — one she feels driven to because of desperation, but one that she also knows is wrong.

For the latter part of STARCH, Indira carries the emotional weight of her moral quandary on top of everything else, and tension builds over the possible discovery of her actions. But she soon discovers a spot of unexpected grace and understanding where she least expects it, from someone who understands the role that Indira plays in the family and the burdens she shoulders. For a moment, she feels seen and heard, transforming her perspective and restoring a sense of goodness in her self and life.