Imagine a seemingly happy family, a husband –wife with their teenage daughter and mother-in-law shifting to a sprawling new apartment, what could possibly go wrong? Except for the phrase, words once said cannot be taken back… manifesting itself in the darkest ways possible. Director Aditi Roy’s just-released web-series Lojja starring Priyanka Sarkar is the story of awareness, understanding and fighting against verbal abuse, in general and in marital life. If you are wondering what to do this weekend, then here are six reasons why this must be on your priority watch list.
Identify verbal abuse
At home or in public places or even through comments, many times women are subjected to rather harsh words which includes cuss words. While it is mostly passed on, one needs to identify the thin line between a joke and verbal abuse. With several instances of defaming Jaya essayed by Priyanka in front of friends, family, child, or just the general public, her husband Partha crosses the boundaries of marital relationship. With legal jargons thrown in and several visible instances, it becomes easier to identify what verbal abuse is, which sets the premise of the story. Lojja is probably one of the rarest gems in Bengali entertainment industry which focuses anddevelops this idea. The dialogues are hard-hitting and aptly written by Samragnee Bandopadhyay and spells the boundaries of toxicity for one to look out for.
Changing Behaviour
As the story evolves, one gets to see the tremendous mental trauma and stress that begins to take shape in Jaya’s character. Anyone who absorbs belittlement for days in the end starts going through a cycle of self-doubt, frustration, and harrowing thoughts. Their behaviour changes rapidly and is often noticed by those around them. Such turnaround of behaviour is normal and seeking professional help under such circumstances are also not unheard of. The narrative normalises professional help and spells out that one is not alone.
Another important point that comes forward is the victimisation of the individual. For those who outwardly cannot understand the rapid degenerative development, often tend to label the individual in a negative way.
Seeking Help
As Jaya finds herself getting trapped in the mesh of her husband’s toxic behaviour, she sets out to seek help psychologically and legally to take a stand for herself. There is always help in society that one can seek out and should avail to lead a healthier life. It is a question of individual choice and the victim herself needs to find the way out.
Community Voices
Aditi has carefully inserted the couple’s close friends as a take on voices from the community. During any incident, there are several opinions, some in favour of the victim, some against, some giving solutions, some trying to find faults. During the conversations among friends, who are literal manifestations of ‘ Log Kya Kahenge?’ several facets of the incident and course of actions come in light.
Communication is the Key
No matter what, the age-old solution that communication is the key has been repeatedly focussed on. Several times behavioural characteristics like short-temper, hot headedness, and sadism prevents one to think rationally and communicate. This causes extra hurdles in solving the situation.
Finest Performances
Over the years Priyanka has honed herself to emerge as one of the finest actors of the industry. Aditi too brings out the best in her through Jaya which might turn out to be one of the best roles of her career. The ebb and flow of various emotions, body language, frustration, are all beautifully portrayed. Anujoy Chattopadhyay who dons the role of the verbally toxic Partha is bang on point.
Lojja not only takes an interesting concept and diversifies it but also makes an important comment on acknowledging verbal abuse as much as one acknowledges physical abuse and standing up against it. Just because some abuses don’t have signs, they are not to be taken any lightly.
Lojja is streaming on Hoichoi