India / 2025 / Fiction, Experimental / 29’59”I2605393
Synopsis : Koos (The Womb) is a powerful and emotionally charged short film that delves into the harsh, unseen realities of rural sugarcane laborers in Maharashtra. At its heart is Surekha, a resilient woman caught in a relentless cycle of poverty, patriarchy, and physical toil. Alongside her husband Vikas and their two young children, Surekha migrates from village to village, bound by exploitative loans (Uchal) and the demands of seasonal sugarcane cutting. The film intimately portrays Surekha’s daily grind—cutting cane, cooking, caring for children—while silently battling worsening health. When she collapses, a government doctor recommends an urgent hysterectomy, pushing the family into deeper debt. Yet, despite surgery, Surekha is forced back into labor. Tragedy strikes when their son Shubham dies from electrocution due to contractor negligence. The community mourns, but Surekha remains silent, her grief transforming into a haunting act of rebellion. She returns to the field, slicing cane with quiet fury—each stroke a scream of pain and resistance. Koos is a visceral narrative of endurance, grief, and systemic injustice. It speaks not only of one woman’s suffering, but of countless unheard voices in rural India, making visible the invisible burdens borne by women like Surekha every day.
Director
Production
Referent
Sales
Cast / With
Anuya Kalaskar-Baiche
Vitthal Kale
Anil Kamble
Vaishali Kendale
Editing
Nilesh Rasal
Script
Screenplay adapted from
Camera
Girish Jambhlikar
Film score composer
Rohit Nagbhide
Sound designer
Dharshn Shivale
Decors
Atul Lokhnde
Sound Editing
Darshn Shivale
Sound Mixing
Darshn Shivale