TITLE OF THE FILMDropless (Nipaniya)
DIRECTED BYAnamika Pal
LANGUAGEHindi, Kannauji (English subtitle)
YEAR2025
COUNTRYIndia
DURATION20 minutes
SPECIAL NOTEAsian Premiere

PRINCIPAL CREW & CAST

WRITINGAnamika Pal
CINEMATOGRAPHYDisha Sharma
EDITINGRani Bed Banshi
LOCATION SOUNDAbhishek Mishra
SOUND DESIGN & MIXING
Abhishek Mishra
PRINCIPAL CASTIshita Joshi, Tiyasha Biswas, Suhasini Dighe, Barun Nag, Shatabdi Banik, Rupsha Bhattacharjee, Vijyalaxmi Mohata, Rupanjali Roy

ABOUT THE FILM

During a family funeral, Preeti, a middle-class daughter-in-law, faces a crisis when her breast milk dries up, leaving her 4-month-old baby hungry. Desperate, she drinks a glass of undiluted milk—an act deemed a domestic sin under the prevailing social norms.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Anamika Pal is an aspiring filmmaker currently studying at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata. While pursuing her under graduation from Journalism, Pal realized the gender biases prevalent in society bothered her deeply, perhaps because they were intertwined with her own life. Since she struggled to articulate her thoughts effectively, Pal felt films could be the medium that might convey her voice, carrying her stories to others.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The film is my tribute to the moments and lessons that shaped my childhood and still stay with me. I saw these things around me while I was growing up, and I still see them today. This connection gave the film its tone. We chose to show it in a plain, observational way. I didn’t want to turn the story into a neat, tidy plot because what we were trying to capture isn’t just a story; it’s life. It’s the harsh, unfair treatment that half of the world’s people—especially women; face, even if the customs look different from place to place. This oppression lives on quietly, rooted in old ideas about gender, and it makes people, especially women, feel ignored or hurt. By keeping the film raw and real, we hope to show that truth, however uncomfortable, and to make viewers think about the silent rules that keep this injustice alive. The movie is a personal look at what I have seen, a mirror of the experiences of many, and a small step toward questioning the unfair systems that still exist.