LOST: A Short Film on Drug Addiction

By Sachit Grover

My motivation to make this series of films with the dance group STTM (Stories Told Through Movement) was the fact that there isn’t much talk about mental health within the South Asian community. Recently, Bollywood films like Dear Zindagi and Chhichhore have started talking about mental health, but it hasn’t been talked about in a mainstream fashion. I wanted to team up with STTM dance to have this talked about more publicly. We felt this collaboration would be beneficial given that we would be able to maximize our reach. A lot of people like dance videos while others prefer watching short films. We thought a combination of both would garner a larger audience.

In the first episode of LOST, Lea and Shruti are introduced. In this series, Lea is the daughter of Shruti and Vijay. The first episode focuses on a dance segment between Lea and Shruti to the song Aashiqui (The Love Theme). In this first episode, Shruti is a figment of Lea’s imagination. That’s why there are numerous cuts throughout the song (with and without Shruti).

In the second episode of LOST, Vijay is introduced and the family troubles are showcased. Vijay and Shruti fighting about Vijay’s drinking takes a toll on Lea and she feels like she is unable to live a normal life. Vijay also ruins the family dynamic since he turns to alcohol in every situation. The family has the chance to go to a family gathering, but Vijay ruins it by being drunk and ruining the food Shruti prepared for the event. Lea tries to tell her mom that she should stand up for herself against Vijay, but Shruti refuses. Shruti states that due to cultural norms, she can’t just leave Vijay. This is very commonplace in South Asian culture. Frustrated, Lea leaves the room while Shruti follows.

In the third episode of LOST, Lea and Shruti have another dance segment to the song Judaai. This song is used to show the growing tension in the family. After the song, Lea is shown struggling to keep up with the pressures of her chaotic family dynamic. Lea is shown going down the route of utilizing drugs to overcome her pain. Drug abuse is highlighted in this episode.

In the fourth and final episode of LOST, the family dynamic is further tainted. Lea then gets high and imagines what her life would be if their family was “normal.” After everything, all Lea can ask is “what if?” Basically, Lea is never given closure after going through this traumatic experience.

You can find the full series here.

To check out my work, subscribe to me on YouTube. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can find STTM Dance on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.