‘Anuja’: Two Ambitious Sisters, One Choice
The Oscar-nominated short upends gender dynamics to show us a world of possibility — and the impossibility of hard choices.
“The girl should be fair. The girl shouldn’t be too ambitious.” A 9-year-old girl, Anuja, is reading aloud from the infamous matrimonial ads that fill Indian newspapers, outlining society’s expectations for brides. “If the girl isn’t ambitious, who will be?” Palak, her elder sister, declares. “Does the man ever really work?”
In just 23 minutes, writer and director Adam J. Graves immerses us in a world where two parentless sisters support each other’s ambitions, question societal expectations, and navigate a life stacked against them. The film dares us to walk in their shoes, even momentarily, to understand how even the smallest of decisions can have outsized consequences. And now, Anuja is on its way to the Oscars, nominated for Best Live Action Short. We sat down with Graves and producer Suchitra Mattai to explore how they pulled off the masterful film.