Devi trailer: Kajol tries to keep sisterhood intact 

A group of women struggling to make sense of the world around them, even as anger, dissent, frustration erupts within themselves, makes for an interesting setup. Throw in a powerful cast of players led by Kajol, Neha Dhupia Bedi, Neena Kulkarni, Mukta Barve and Shruti Haasan among others, and you have a short film that could prove to make an impact.

Witten and directed by Priyanka Bannerjee, the trailer for the short film, Devi (2020), captures the struggle of this unique sisterhood in its face-off against an unforgiving world. The film will release on the YouTube channel on 2 March. 

The trailer does not reveal much and keeps the mystery around the story alive. It begins with a very homely Jyoti (Kajol) offering prayers, surounded by women, all of who are locked within a large mansion. The only bit of revelation lies in the small snippet of a news clip within the trailer, which announces that the 'situation has shocked everyone'. 

The nine women gathered (played by an ensemble cast of Dhupia Bedi, Barve, Kulkarni, Haasan, Sandhya Mhatre, Rama Joshi, Shivani Raghuvanshi and Yashaswini Dayama) around Jyoti, belong to different strata of society, religion and profession. There is a doctoral student, a few women from the village, a businesswoman, a socialite, et al. The only thing common among them is that they are women.

The movie hints at a sisterhood against an increasingly violent, abusive world. Each woman looks to be fighting her own stereotype, and the abuse that comes with it. 

The first look from the short film, by Large Short Films, was released earlier in January 2020. Speaking about the film back then, Kajol had said, "My character, Jyoti, is vastly different from me, but uncannily, we share a lot of similarities. In today's times when gender discrimination, abuse, and violence is being spoken about vociferously, films like Devi are far more relevant." 

Watch the trailer below: