Psychoanalytic film theory on “Teaspoon”

Psychoanalytic film theory is a type of approach which includes aspects of Sigmund Freud’s concepts such as Pleasure pain principal, Oedipus complex, Defense mechanism and others. He was a well-known Austrian neurologist and also the founder of psychoanalysis, which deals about why a person behaves in a certain way. In the year 1923, he published a book called, “The Ego and the Id”, which spoke about the nuances of, 'id, ‘ego’ and 'superego'. Id is related to instincts, Ego to the reality principle and Super Ego to Morality. In the year 1900, another of his major work got published which was called, “'The Interpretation of Dreams”. In this he analysed dreams and gave his own explanation as to why we get certain kinds of dreams. 

Short films are widely popular these days and one such short film which won a lot of accolades as well as people’s hearts was, “Teaspoon”, which was released on YouTube in the year 2015. The short film was directed by Aban Bharucha Deohans and was released by the Candid Creations YouTube channel. The film has more than two million views on YouTube, 2,932,054 to be precise along with nineteen awards from both Indian and International film festivals. It was an official selection for the Venice Film Festival, won the best screenplay-jury and actress-jury award at the 5th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival along with 16 other awards and accolades. 

The film starts with Kavita played by Sree Swara talking on the phone with her friend. Her friend asks her to watch a movie with her, for which she replies,

“Accha, lekin main kaha nikal sakti hoon yaar”- translation- “Really, But I’ll never be able to leave home”- Kavita, Teaspoon 

 This one dialogue clearly gives us (audience) the hint that Kavita is a homemaker and unwillingly has to stay at her home. Within a few seconds into the scene, we (audience), Kavita and her friend can hear a tok tok noise (sound made by banging an object on something) for which her friend asks whether it is her husband who is making that noise. Kavita immediately responds by saying No and that the noise is made by her father-in law. For that her friend says,

”Oh, mere toh dono off hogaye” - translation-“Well, both my in-laws are dead”, for which Kavita responds by saying,”Tu lucky hain yaar”- translation- “God, you are lucky”.

Just 40 seconds into the movie, we get the idea that Kavita is a home-maker who has to stay all day at home and take care of her sick father-in-law. From the psychological perspective we (audience) get to know that Kavita is frustrated with her life and would like to travel but her circumstances aren’t allowing her to. ,

In the next scene, we can see Kavita’s father-in law who is paralytic and is taken care of by his daughter-in law. Since he’s not able to talk, he uses his teaspoon as a tool to call Kavita whenever he is in need of something. He bangs his teaspoon on the edge of his bed to make a “tok tok” sound to call Kavita. After his requirements (in this scene getting food and water) gets fulfilled, he asks Kavita to leave by waving his hand. This clearly indicates the relationship between Kavita and her father-in law which is purely based on purpose and need. Kavita works for a cosmetic company from home as she’s unable to leave her house due to her paralytic father-in law. She clearly ignores the sound made by her father-in law as it is quite repetitive and happens throughout the day. Talking from the psychological point of view, Kavita’s Id wants her to completely ignore the sound and concentrate on her work. Her Ego on the other hand is worried whether her father-in law might need some genuine help and her Super Ego persuades her to go visit her father-in law whenever he makes the, “tok tok”

When Kavita’s husband calls her to tell her about his Surat trip, he also asks about his father’s health, for which she says,

”Theekh hain, unhe kya hoga”- translation-“He’s fine, what can go wrong with him.”

This particular dialogue clearly gives us the idea of how frustrated Kavita is. Her entire day is spent by staying at home and taking care of her ill father-in law which makes her frustrated and stressed. The above given dialogue is her Id which completely ignores the concepts of morals and values. Her father-in law continuously makes the sound to call her which is completely ignored by Kavita, who after a point of time decides to go and check. She then sees that her father-in law is not in proper position and that his pillow has fallen on the floor. Kavita immediately goes inside the room and helps her father-in law to sit back in position. This scene is really heart-warming, as Kavita even though she is frustrated takes care of her father-in law and makes sure that he is okay. 

Her only friend is her neighbor with whom she discusses daily soaps and its plots. She almost believes in them and later confronts her husband whether he has a secretary or not. These daily soaps indeed have a great impact on housewives’ minds who spend majority of them time either watching it or discussing it.  

The entire story has been told from the point of view of Kavita with whom we resonate and relate to. The scene where she asks her husband to take her for a holiday is a clear indication of what her husband thinks. He immediately rejects the idea and says that there’s no one to take of his father and that he cannot leave him alone at home for which Kavita says,

“Do chaar din kay liye old age home main nahi rakh sakte kya” – translation- “Can’t we keep him in some Old Age Home for a few days?”

Rajiv rejects this suggestion too and says that old age homes are costly and they already have a lot of payments to clear. Now let’s look at Rajiv’s thought process from a psychological point of view. Rajiv clearly follows the concept of Pleasure pain principal. He wants to avoid pain, in this case it would be, going on a trip (expense) and leaving his father at an old-age home, meaning more expense. He clearly wants to live on a stipulated budget and doesn’t care for his wife’s wants and needs. He clearly ignores his wife’s ramblings and effortlessly moves on with his life. Talking about Id, Ego and Super Ego. His Super Ego is the one that makes him want to enquire about his father’s health often. In a particular scene, Kavita asks her husband,

“Shaayad tum mere bare main bhi sochoge” – translation-“Maybe you’ll think about me for once”, which is completely ignored by her husband Rajiv who worries about his father because of his Super Ego but not about his wife.

He takes her for granted and thinks that it is her duty to take care of his father. 

The fact that her father-in law makes the “tok tok” sound only when there’s no one in the house except for Kavita, is revealed in a scene when Kavita says,

” Ab tum jaa rahe ho, uth jaayenge”- translation- “Well, now that you are leaving, he will wake up”.

The fact that her father-in law makes the “tok tok” is known only to Kavita and not to her husband, Rajiv is quite surprising. She further adds that her father-in law might have an antenna in his head and makes the “tok tok” with the help of a spoon immediately after his son leaves the house. The “tok tok” sound later doesn’t irritate her much and she is seen making a joke out of it. 

In the later part of the movie, she is seen dreaming about pigeons flying away which symbolizes freedom. But her dream is disrupted due to the “tok tok” sound which indirectly means that her father-in law is the obstacle that is not allowing her to be free and independent. Her subconscious mind which are her dreams are indirectly telling her that all she wants is independence and freedom. 

Her father-in law considers the teaspoon as his most prized possession and refuses to give it to Kavita, who is frustrated with the sound that he makes with the teaspoon.According to her father-in law, the teaspoon is the only object that helps him to communicate as he’s unable to walk and talk. 

In spite of the fact that Kavita has been made to stay home, she still loves and cares for her husband which is evident in several scenes where she prepares food for him, listens to his office queries and also supports him. All that she wants in return is support from her husband which is not there. 

Kavita’s husband, Rajiv is in an illusion that his father lies quietly at home without disturbing anyone. This doesn’t sit well with Kavita who argues that his father tortures her on a daily basis by making an irritating “tok tok” sound all throughout the day. She further adds his father changes his behavior as a chameleon and behaves in a totally different way in front of him. This however is not believed by Rajiv who in turn accuses Kavita for her weird accusations and behavior. The fight escalates and Kavita leaves the scene with tears in her eyes. 

Rajiv refuses to understand Kavita and in turn accuses and blames her. His Id (Instincts) overcomes his Super Ego (Morality) which not only affects his relationship with Kavita but also hurts her feelings. She is lost, frustrated and depressed, as the only person that she thought would understand and support her is against her. 

Kavita is extremely frustrated and her frustration is depicted through various signs and symbols such as pressure cooker, hot iron and her heated conversation with her dealer. Her frustration builds with the “tok tok” sound, where she goes and angrily kills her father-in low by smothering him with a pillow. Her Id completely took over her by not giving her a chance to contemplate and decide. She quickly realizes what grave mistake she has done and leaves home in shock. She passes by a flock of pigeons which she had dreamt about a few days ago. This concept of getting dreams based on what’s going to happen is common and is known to occur to several of us. She returns home and sees her neighbor getting some milk for her. Both of them enter the home and are shocked to see that Rajiv’s father is no more. Kavita cries inconsolably which is asked by her husband as she never liked him when he was alive. Kavita’s Super Ego persuades her to talk to Rajiv about how his father dies which is stopped by her Ego, as she knows what will happen if he gets to know about it. She keeps it as a secret with herself and later finds that her husband also has a habit of tapping the stool with a spoon which serves as the ending for the movie. The ending is open-ended and the audiences are left to interpret whether Kavita’s father-in law did it on purpose, to just communicate with Kavita or to irritate her with the “tok tok” sound.