The final scene of the film 'Shakti' is very powerful. The film's main character Durga looks from a small shop to an art gallery that has been converted into an academy. A signboard is hung on the wall of the old gallery space with a sign indicating the new academy. As the mother looks at the board, her daughter Li bows her head in silence.

Then the camera shows Durga's face in a 'close-up shot'. Durga, standing with tears in her eyes and a serious expression, slowly looks at us. It seems that she is not standing inside the camera lens but in front of us. In this scene where the 'fourth wall' is broken, Durga's eyes seem to be asking questions. Who? The audience, the patriarchal society, the tendency to protect the perpetrator. There are many such scenes in the film 'Shakti', directed by

film director Nani Sarah Walker, which lingers in the mind for a long time after watching the film. Another strong scene in this one and a half hour long film is a moment when Lee is learning painting from her teacher. Lee is in the room to learn painting. As usual, the teacher, sitting next to Lee with the door closed, grabs her thighs under various pretexts. The camera quickly shows Lee's face. She becomes stiff, as if her body is frozen like ice. The teacher's behavior not only makes her uncomfortable, but also puts her body in a state where she cannot move.

Why didn't we immediately fight back when she was sexually abused? Shouldn't we have screamed when the perpetrator abused her? Should we have called for help? Why didn't we do something ourselves? This scene is a strong answer to the question that most victims of sexual abuse are asked at the beginning. After all, how can you fight back when your body is paralyzed and speech is blocked? Who will hear the scream when your voice is blocked in your throat when you try to scream? Director Walker has shown the real experience and situation of abuse very sensitively in this scene. As soon as the teacher's hand falls on Lee, the background sound disappears. The silent sound of emptiness becomes louder. For a moment, Lee's world comes to a standstill. Director Walker has questioned the patriarchal society in the film 'Shakti' by weaving a serious issue like sexual abuse in such a delicate way. Although the film focuses on the core issue of sexual abuse, it is also the story of the struggle of a Dalit mother. Who runs to the police administration, courts, and activists for justice for her abused daughter Lee. But, how do mothers like her not get access to justice because they are from a weaker class, a supposedly lower caste? What difficult situations and questions do the victims have to face in court? How does this society protect the perpetrator? The film has shown many issues such as how the perpetrator is protected by the power and access to resources that they have because they are supposedly from an upper caste. Walker has also brought into the discussion through the film how such a serious case has not been able to find its way to justice due to the statute of limitations. The film examines the mental, physical, and social effects of sexual abuse through Lee. Also, an example of how a patriarchal society protects the perpetrator is the art gallery that has been transformed from a small shop into an academy!

The film is not just about sexual abuse. It covers various forms of discrimination that are entrenched in Nepali society. Lee suffers discrimination in society because she is supposedly from a lower caste. Her neighbors insult her by calling her a 'daughter of a slut'. Durga suffers discrimination in various ways, from the workplace to the workplace because she is supposedly from a lower caste. The perpetrator and her father repeatedly insult Durga because of her caste. The perpetrator directly tells Durga, 'Do whatever you want, you slut'. Director Walker has shown the various forms of abuse prevalent in Nepali society by mixing them into the story of Durga and her daughter. A male passenger on the bus touches Durga's body because she is a woman. While Lee is playing with her two male friends, a garbage collector arrives. At that time, one of them looks at the person and says, 'Bombay'. This is an example of how this society has instilled discrimination in the minds of children. This scene satirizes discrimination based on facial color. The film

uses beautiful frames and simple background sound to examine such dark aspects of Nepali society. The most striking aspect of this film is the dialogue used in it. There are dialogues in the film that are more difficult to hear than spoken language. If the same spoken language had been used in the dialogue, the 'power' in the dialogue would have been stronger like in the narration. However, the images used in the film and the actors' performances make these problems secondary. Laxmi Bardeva, who plays Durga, Menuka Pradhan, who plays her sister, and Jeevan Bhattarai, who appears in a small role, have performed brilliantly in the film. Polina Oli, who plays Lee, Shristi Shrestha, who plays the teacher, and Akash Nepali are commendable in their performances.

The strong point of this film is the honesty used in the narration. In mainstream films, most of the time, the stories of Dalits were told by directors from the so-called upper caste who have been suppressing the same community for years. Or they themselves were writing the stories of Dalits. Even in portraying Dalit characters, the so-called upper caste actors were shown as dirty or as characters to make the audience laugh.

However, this film has broken that practice. Film director Walker himself is a Dalit. Nani, who was born and raised in Nepal, has captured the pain and struggle of the Dalit community in 'Shakti'. The director has included Dalit artist Lakshmi Bardeva in the lead role of this film. The strong voice of rapper Dimriti from the same community has also been included in the music. How complicated does the issue become when the story of the Dalit community is told by a conscious director from the same community? Shakti has introduced a new debate in the film industry. Moreover, Shakti is a strong example of how sensitive and closer to the truth a film is when a woman's story is told by a woman! In this sense, this film is a campaign against the discrimination suffered by the Dalit community, the abuse suffered by women and the weak justice system.