many women know that their silence is precisely what holds entire families and communities together. Many of us stay, and instead we’re the ones who break; many of us leave, in lieu of speaking out. Ria’s face during this scene, when Lalit cups her face, knows intimately the future of compromise, silence, and incomplete forgiveness that’s being asked of her. It’s on her face when they have to take family wedding photos, and the unknowing photographer asks her to sit at the knees of her abuser. The shutter of the camera catches each movement of Ria’s face, from smiling performative compliance
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