A young woman loaded with dreams, squeezed into a one-room chawl in Mumbai with her significant other, two kids and parents-in-law. Without a moment’s privacy. Yearning for more from life. In her own words, same life, same routine, no fervour. Suffocating, she says and we can’t concur more.

While before all else, you do ask why Clara is dressed a bit modernly, considering her PIL look orthodox, you get the answer in the job she holds – a receptionist. Therefore, the glamour and the stereotype.

Her naughty, coy messaging…oops sexting with a secret admirer is her only gateway to escape the reality and it helps brighten her world. To such an extent, she scarcely sees the world around her. Essentially, you get to see two worlds. Or a world within a world.

She has her escapade in a lodge. A musty one at that. The receptionist shoots lustful looks at her and slyly and a bit openly too, beyond a point, stares at her cleavage, perhaps the audacity, for he has come to the obvious conclusion.

The rendezvous extends for a good couple of minutes. They are spent in each other’s company, quite blissfully. And then comes the twist, which can be perceived in two different ways – something that you didn’t expect or when at times, the unexpected becomes the obvious, particularly, in the event that you have seen a lot of it.

The film works for a huge degree for anybody, yet especially more so for Mumbaikars. The sight of the  chawls or the local trains can bring a grin to your face. The message towards the end is likewise piercing.

The lead characters or pretty much everyone in the movie exhibit a natural chemistry. Kara Studios once more wins kudos for backing up a strong script and becoming the go-to-place for short stories.

Technique wise too, the film is more than adequate. All in all, The Stolen Christmas, with all of its 11 minutes comes across as time well spent.