Short film ‘Dammy’ premieres at the Indian Film Festival (Stuttgart)

It is about a father who wants to ‘become’ a mother, after his infant child is left mother-less

On the face of it, the short film Dammy, directed by Rukshana Tabassum, pivots on gender identity. It is about a person who wants to change their assigned gender: a father wanting to become a mother. The film, which premiered at the Indian Film Festival, Stuttgart on July 22, raises some difficult questions around gender and identity. Its title is derived from combining both daddy and mummy. “We wanted to make a film around a strong desire; a desire to be another person/gender. What if it is complemented by another? Suman [Vikram Kochhar] has lost his wife, he has an infant and so he wants to ‘become’ the mother. He is attracted to the very idea in the literal sense of motherhood,” says the writer Jinoy Jose P. He is glad that the producer Ajayya Kumar let them [the team] tell this story.