Thick Torn Curtains

Bhavna finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage with a manipulative mother-in-law. Finding no support from her mother, who herself is struggling with the stigma of being an "abandoned" woman after her husband leaves her, she encourages Bhavna to have some more patience and "make her marriage work".

  • Usha Sharma
    Director
  • Usha Sharma
    Writer
  • Usha Sharma
    Producer
  • Bhavna
    Key Cast
    "Parvinder Shergill"
  • Rita
    Key Cast
    "Ruchika Jain"
  • Esha
    Key Cast
    "Lucinda Nicole"
  • Anil
    Key Cast
    "Nabeel Hussain"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Usha Sharma

Usha studied film making with the intention of making films and documentaries which would raise awareness and educate people in these social issues which she felt strongly about. She wanted to give a voice to these people who had none.
Usha went on to pursue her Masters in Film and TV Art from the University of Westminster and then studied Producing from Metfilm school in Ealing.
She is now actively involved in filming and writing scripts about social issues and mainly focusses on issues faced by the Asian community. She recently filmed a short documentary on the discrimination and abuse faced by the Asian LGBTQI community in the Asian society by their own people and their own families.
Filmmaking is a passion for Usha and she would like to make many more films which would raise awareness and focus on social issues which normally are gone unnoticed.
Usha Sharma is a professional psychotherapist and counsellor. She has worked as a volunteer counsellor in many women’s centre including Hillingdon Women’s Centre where she was awarded a Certificate of Merit for her support to the community.
During the course of her career, Usha met many women and teenagers who suffered from domestic abuse, sexual abuse and abandonment issues. This got her thinking about the actual support which was available for these women. Many women were actually forced to go back to their abusive partners which resulted in horrific results.

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Director Statement

Bhavna finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage with a manipulative mother-in-law. Bhavna’s own mother, who is still struggling from the stigma of having been abandoned by her husband, encourages her to just be patient and work on the marriage, as divorce would make them look bad in the eyes of their community. While being caught up in worrying about what other people may think, Bhavna’s mother ignores the horrific reality of their marriage and this eventually leads to horrific consequences.

This story is very close to my heart as it is something I have experienced and watched growing up. Most Asian women are groomed from an early age into "tolerating" "compromising" "adjusting" to make the marriage work. Brought up in a patriarchal house, I have seen only badly behaved men, with anger issues, treat women badly but it is always unto the woman to make the relationship work and keep the peace in the house.
With this film, I have given a tiny glimpse of how toxic an Asian house can be and how we need to bring our daughters up to be more independent and bold, instead of concentrating only other marriage and teaching them to compromise.