Anuja Netflix Short Film Ending Explained: A Cliffhanger That Leaves You Thinking

Directed by Adam J. Graves, Anuja is the story of a very talented girl who, despite thousands of difficulties, dared to come out of a deep, dark world where nothing like hope existed.

This film has been made with the help of Salaam Balak Trust, which is a non-profit organization that works for the better future of children under the privilege of New Delhi. The protagonist of this film, Sajda Pathan lives under the care of this NGO.

Anuja is a kind of commentary on our capitalistic system in which it becomes very difficult for a poor person to break that circle and get free from the shackles of poverty and take his rights, whether it is capitalism, communism, or socialism.

It is very easy for a privileged person to say that if someone wants, he can climb the ladder of success by working hard and reaching the top in this capitalist setup.

But Anuja movie shows that even if one gets an opportunity, it is not that easy to use it properly. There are many reasons behind this which we do not often discuss.

Many times, using the opportunities given to the backward class of society properly is also a challenge in itself. It becomes a kind of luxury, which is not available to everyone.

Everyday, we meet people who learn to live by losing to their situations, and we easily say that if they had taken a bold decision or had not missed that opportunity, their lives would have been different.

But when we do not know anything about their real battles, then it is not right to make such generalized statements.

Right now, we will try to understand this question in more detail later, but for now, let us see what happened in Anuja's life and whether she was able to take a leap of faith to fulfill her destiny or not.

How was the relationship between Anuja and Palak?

Palak was Anuja's elder sister and she hardly ever let Anuja feel the absence of their mother. Palak still remembered how her mother was, how her talking style was, and how she loved both sisters.

But Anuja did not remember much.

When her mother passed away, Anuja was very young. Palak and Anuja used to work in a garment factory where they used to get only a small daily wage in return for their hard work and effort.

Both of them used to sew clothes for more than 12 hours a day, but still, they had neither a roof nor two meals a day.

Palak and Anuja never expected much from life. Whatever they got, they happily accepted it. They both never got disappointed with their difficulties.

Life was taught to them, but at least they had each other's support and that was enough for them. Neither did they complain about working for 12-14 hours, nor were they troubled by their troubled life.

Perhaps humans are like this, they quickly compromise with their circumstances.

Palak knew that Anuja was very talented and she wanted her sister to complete her studies and live a better life. She knew that Anuja's destiny was not written to just sit behind a sewing machine.

But this did not mean that Palak considered her work to be small. She respected her work and was proud of it because through this she was earning her livelihood honestly.

But Palak was not a simple girl, she knew how people look at girls like her. She realized that even though she was not like the people begging on the streets and was earning honestly by working hard, society was still not ready to give her respect.

How did Palak and Anuja collect the admission fee?

One day, Mr. Mishra, who was a teacher, came to meet Mr. Verma, the owner of Palak or Anuja. He told Mr. Verma that Anuja should be allowed to take an admission test, which, if she passed, then she would be able to study in a good school without any expense.

Mr. Verma, without any shame, told him the truth. He was not ready to leave Anuja probably because it would have caused him some loss. This clearly showed how narrow-minded he was, and such people are found everywhere who do not hesitate to stop someone's progress just for their own benefit.

While leaving, Mr. Mishra told Anuja that whatever happened, she would definitely take this exam because he knew that it could change the life of that girl. Palak also wanted the same.

Palak said that while working, she had stitched some bags using leftover pieces of cloth, and if she sold them, she could collect 400 rupees for the exam fee.

Anuja did not understand why Palak wanted to spend such a huge amount just for the exam fees. Palak did not have any strong answer, but she just said that studies were very important to her, and she tried to explain to Anuja how this opportunity could change her life.

Anuja knew that Palak was saving for marriage. Because they did not have any guardian and she did not want Palak's dreams to remain unfulfilled because of her.

The love of both the sisters for each other was such that they used to forget their own needs for their sister.

So Anuja secretly entered a shopping mall and sold two cloth bags to a rich woman there in return for which she got 800 rupees.

That day Palak and Anuja ate all their favourite things and also watched a movie.

When they tasted the hot Jalebis, the happiness on their faces was priceless. It seemed as if a thirsty man who had given up hope of living long ago had found a drop of water in the desert.

Was Anuja able to appear in the Admission test?

Anuja's boss, Mr. Verma, was a very cruel and cunning man. He remembered that Mr. Mishra had told him that Anuja was very good at maths. He asked Anuja to do calculations and Anuja solved it instantly without using any paper or pen, just by using her mind.

Then Mr. Verma said that from next Tuesday, Anuja will not sit behind the sewing machine. Instead, her job will be to handle Mr. Verma's accounts.

But this statement of Mr. Verma was just a trick. He deliberately chose the same day and time when Anuja had her exam. On Tuesday at 8 am, he threatened that if Anuja did not come on time, he would fire not only Anuja but also Palak from the job.

Now Anuja was stuck in a big problem. She was not able to understand what she should do. She asked Palak what boarding school was and when she came to know that Palak would not be with her there, she became even more sad.

Anuja's life lacked a proper guardian who would make her understand that if she went to school, she could make not only her life but also Palak's life better.

But the sad thing was that poor Anuja could never think about where education could take her. She only wanted to live happily with her sister.

And thinking of living without Palak, this opportunity of education seemed useless to her.

Also, Anuja was afraid that if she did not reach Mr. Verma's office by 8 in the morning, then that cunning man would fire Palak from the job.

This Netflix short film ends on a cliffhanger in which it is shown that Anuja is standing at the corner of a street while her sister is going to work in the factory. She was just standing there thinking what she should do.

You will remember that in the beginning, I had said that getting an opportunity is also a privilege. It was shown exactly like that.

No one around Anuja could tell her that if she has to change her life, then how important education is. When the decision came into her hands, only two things were going on in her mind: her sister's happiness and fear of Mr. Verma.

If I had to guess, I guess Anuja never went to take any exam, but I definitely wish from my heart that whoever is like Anuja in this world should fight and win against her condition, prove wrong those who do not believe in her, and write her own destiny.

The story of the snake and the mongoose and Anuja's life

At the beginning of the film, we see that Palak often used to tell stories to Anuja before going to sleep. One night she told Anuja the story of a mongoose that a family had kept as a pet in their house.

Both the husband and wife trusted the mongoose but they had a doubt somewhere in their mind that perhaps that animal could be dangerous for their child.

One day, both of them went out for some important work and left their child at home with the mongoose.

After they left, a snake came to attack the child but the mongoose fought with the snake and killed it and saved the child's life.

Then when the couple returned home, they saw blood on the mongoose's mouth. Without thinking, they thought that the mongoose might have harmed their children and in anger, they started beating the poor animal. But when they saw the dead snake, they realized that the mongoose was innocent and it had saved their child's life.

The mongoose had to pay the price for its loyalty and love. It puts its life at stake for someone else without thinking about its own benefit.

Anuja's story was also similar. She knew that if she went to school, her life could change. She could live in a good house, drive a big car, and live a wholesome life. This was her chance to change her destiny.

But the thing that hindered her decision was her sister Palak. She was afraid to think what would happen to her sister if she left. Would it be right to leave her alone with a person like Mr. Verma? And then maybe she decided to return for her sister's sake.

Just like that mongoose, Anuja also got punished for loving someone else immensely. She lost the biggest opportunity of her life for someone else's good. Maybe she turned around and held her sister's hand and this one step decided her fate.

And maybe it could also be that Palak was that mongoose who was saving Anuja's life from a snake-like Mr. Verma.

But when Anuja did not go for the exam, probably thinking her sister's decision wrong, Palak got hurt to show that, the filmmaker showed blood coming out of her hands and when Palak tried to stop the flowing blood and got blood in her mouth, probably she also became a victim of the tragic fate like that mongoose.

That mongoose did not care and saved the child and Palak also did not think about her marriage and put all her savings at stake for Anuja, the consequences of which both of them will have to suffer now.

Thanks for reading.

Do share your experience of watching Anuja in the comment section.