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As a cisgender man, I have always found female friendships so fascinating. In recent years, the profound sense of solidarity and sisterhood that some women share with their closest friends has become so rare in the lives of men as we grapple with a global loneliness epidemic, it's almost unimaginable to us. But when I watched filmmaker Devika Mahajan's short film 'Aaj Shanibar', I almost understood what it must feel like to have a friend who feels like home.
A moving portrait of female friendship, Aaj Shanibar follows Farheen (Aiman Mukhtiar) and Rhea (Farzana Palathingal) as they share what they call their "last girls' night out" together in Mumbai. But as time passes, a night that was meant to be fun and frivolous slowly spirals into an existential conversation that unspools everything they weren't trying to talk about.
"This is a film about how even a casual night out between women will always be political. It’s about holding anger and laughter in the same breath. And choosing what helps one survive better."
Devika Mahajan
"It’s about a night that doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, not because they don’t try, but because the presence of men lingers in every memory, every street, every silence," Mahajan says. "It’s about love, forced responsibilities, the ache of growing up, the exhaustion of simply existing. It’s about female friendship in its most honest form. The kind that feel like home even if the city won't."
Stylistically and emotionally, Aaj Shanibar runs parallel with Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy and Chris Evans’ Before We Go (2014). Like those films, Mahajan anchors Aaj Shanibar in character-driven conversation — profound, winding, and richly textured. The city plays not just a backdrop but an active presence in the film, shaping how the women interact with the city and with each other. Much like 'Before Sunrise', there's a melancholy beauty in how time passes during a single night, compressing years of shared history and future anxieties into a few hours.
Aaj Shanibar distinguishes itself through its exploration of the burdens women carry — memories of men, the ever-present weight of safety, and the exhaustion of navigating life in a world not made for them. It captures a distinctly South Asian texture of urban womanhood, yet its emotional terrain remains globally resonant.
In the canon of world cinema's depictions of female friendship — from Frances Ha to Booksmart — Mahajan's film offers a unique, unvarnished entry. It doesn't romanticise female friendship — it honours its complexity. The bond between Farheen and Rhea isn't a neat support system — it's a lifeline, a mirror, and a sanctuary. As their last girls' night ends and the women head home together, Aaj Shanibar reminds us that sometimes, the most political thing women can do is sit together and speak freely — even when the city won't let them forget who's listening.
