Vartika Tiwari is playing a lead role in the Rajesh Tailang-directed short film, Trivediji. Apart from acting in the film, Tiwari has co-written it with Tailang.
Revealing how she got the idea for the film, Tiwari said, "The idea came from a Facebook post. I was stuck alone in Mumbai in lockdown and one day I realized that apart from me the one living being staying with me is my plant!
"I used to feel I won't be able to survive in this pandemic, but the plant would. There was so much insecurity. There is a famous dialogue — sirf Trivedi bachega [only Trivedi will survive]. From there I kept its name Trivediji and posted on Facebook as my one and only support in the lockdown. So the whole idea was to explore my lockdown with Trivediji. It was my personal experience."
Sharing her experience of working with Tailang, she said, "I have worked with Rajesh sir before at the NSD [National School of Drama, Delhi]. But to make a film and explore a whole new story with a girl and a plant was a challenge for us, but he is phenomenal in creating such things. He taught me to give the best without worrying about the final output. He has an attitude of learn or create. I learned to create things with limited resources."
Trivediji, directed by Rajesh Tailang and co-written by him and Vartika Tiwari, is the story of a woman stuck in her apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to survive on depleting food supplies and conversations with her only companion, a plant whom she fondly names 'Trivediji'.
Talking about how he decided to make the film, Tailang said, "When all of us were literally under house arrest during the lockdown, Vartika wrote a post on Facebook and from that post I decided to make this film. I talked to her about the film. Then through video calls, I did remote direction. She shot herself and that’s how we made the film."
Praising Tiwari's dedication, he said, "Despite [the film] being shot on a phone with limited resources, Vartika has given a brilliant performance. This was a challenging task, especially in these difficult circumstances. She also helped me in the writing process. So I want to congratulate her."
Trivediji was recently premiered on the YouTube channel Theatre Talkies.