SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! There is a lot of ground to cover in the just over fourteen minutes plus credits runtime of Dosh, which aims to be a bold statement film. At the forefront of issues addressed is the stigma surrounding mental and physical ailments in South Asian culture. Astoundingly, these large issues are handled with both grace and brevity in the poignant and powerful short film. Hard-of-hearing writer/director Radha Mehta draws from her own life experiences to create a captivating film. As Mehta puts it herself, that story is both her wound and her muse.
There’s been no shortage of films in recent years chronicling the lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. There’s, of course, the phenomenal Sound of Metal, the best picture-winning CODA, and even Marvel has the recent TV series Echo. Just as members of that community are diverse, the projects depicting them are equally varied. Dosh, which translates to “fault” (or “flaw,”) deals with the way that these perceived imperfections can lead to feelings of being unworthy or undeserving of love. We see this through the principal character, Karishma, a single mother preparing to marry.
“…these perceived imperfections can lead to feelings of being unworthy or undeserving in love.”
While her disability is clear for anyone to see with her hearing aids, her fiancé’s is more subtle. In a heartbreaking moment, Karishma attempts to tell her mother-in-law, Shilpa, about her betrothed, Ram’s bipolar diagnosis. However, Karishma’s concerns are quickly dismissed as Shilpa subtly brushes Karishma’s hair over her ear, attempting to make her hearing aids a point of shame while also ignoring her concerns about her own son’s struggles.
This all leads to moments that can be difficult to watch, with verbal abuse and a child in danger coming during the film’s climax. These moments are in service of Dosh’s important messages seeking to dismantle a toxic cultural stigma. For those who feel unworthy, struggling with shame from the way they were born, or those feeling unseen and battling depression, this is an important film.
Dosh screened at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival.
"…the stigma surrounding mental and physical ailments in South Asian culture."
