A Diwali Dilemma
“A Diwali Dilemma grapples with the internal conflict shared by many people of color.”
Title: A Diwali Dilemma (2025)
Runtime: 17 minutes
Director: Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar 👩🏽🇮🇳🇺🇸
Writer: Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar 👩🏽🇮🇳🇺🇸
Reviewed by Weiting 👩🏻🇨🇳🇺🇸
Note: This review was commissioned. The content and methodology remain 100% independent and in line with Mediaversity’s non-commissioned reviews.
Technical: 3/5
As a 17-minute short (split into a 4-part miniseries), writer-director Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar’s A Diwali Dilemma thoughtfully explores exploitation in the American workplace. It reimagines Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol through a contemporary Desi lens, telling a lighthearted yet pointed cautionary tale about detaching from one’s cultural identity to climb the corporate ladder.
Mala (Priya Pappu), a burnt-out Indian American investment banker, is visited by three spiritual figures—her late grandmother Paati (Priya Deva), her former professor Jean (played by director Rajakumar), and her future self (Pappu), who regrets never breaking free from the rat race. They appear in spectral form to guide her toward self-reflection on the first night of Diwali after Mala passes out drunk in the office restroom, while outside, a company-wide Diwali party unfolds to deflect accusations that the firm has a “diversity problem.”
Visually, the short alternates between the golden glow of diyas and the cold, sterile hues of Mala’s office. Intimate close-ups render the spirit visitations organic and heartfelt rather than ghostly or hyperbolic. At its core, A Diwali Dilemma traces Mala’s emotional evolution—from exhaustion and self-doubt to the first spark of renewal. Thematically, it mirrors Diwali’s symbolism of light overcoming darkness, using illumination as both a cultural motif and an emotional metaphor as Mala journeys toward self-understanding.
The caveat, of course, lies in the short’s limited budget and production scale. The plot also veers into soapy territory, and the brief runtime leaves little room for deeper character development. Yet A Diwali Dilemma remains clear and purposeful in its intentions, effectively calling out corporate performances of diversity and the alienation that many Desi professionals feel when their identity becomes something to suppress rather than celebrate.
Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
By centering a female lead and populating its spiritual realm with women, A Diwali Dilemma reframes Dickens’ male-led fable into one that’s rooted in female solidarity. Mala anchors the narrative as a complex protagonist facing disillusionment—an experience many professional women, especially women of color, will relate to. She’s guided by Paati, the Spirit of Diwali Past; Jean, the Spirit of Diwali Present; and Mala’s future self, the Spirit of Diwali Future. Each embodies a distinct facet of womanhood—tradition, intellect, and hindsight—and each challenges present-day Mala to confront how her workaholic ambition has dulled her sense of purpose as a writer.
Among male characters, Mala’s coworker and long-time friend Manoj (Levin Valayil) is an empathetic ally who never becomes an unnecessary savior. He recognizes Mala’s struggles and offers support without demanding emotional labor in return. This dynamic subverts often-seen narratives where women exist to foster men’s growth.
Race: 5/5
Within Mala’s workplace, Diwali becomes a prop in her company’s empty diversity campaign. Coworkers mistake the holiday’s meaning and joke that since “Chinese and Indians are both Asian,” their Chinese neighbors would want the Diwali decorations. They also insist they aren’t racist when calling the festival “exotic.” These moments reveal how casual xenophobia persists even under the guise of multicultural celebration, where diversity initiatives may serve as positive optics, but meaningful inclusion remains unwelcome.
Mala harbors the internal conflict shared by many people of color—caught between gratitude for cultural acknowledgment and discomfort with the commodification of their identity. But through Mala’s spectral mentors, the short reclaims Diwali’s meaning as a time for reflection rather than branding.
The narrative even finds time to touch on generational divides. Mala recalls her parents’ nagging that she should choose “finance or pre-med, not the arts,” even as she yearns for creative fulfillment. Costuming reinforces these tensions: Gray suits meet bright saris and bangles, echoing the ideological clash between corporate survival and Mala’s buried, vivid desire to be a writer. In the end, A Diwali Dilemma becomes more than a workplace satire. It reminds viewers that reclaiming one’s racial identity can be an act of resistance and empowerment in spaces built to diminish it.
Bonus for Age: +0.25
As a tradition-keeping matriarch with a knack for cracking jokes, Grandma Paati embodies the sass and wisdom of older generations. Encouraging Mala to rediscover the joy of Diwali through family memories filled with marigolds, she portrays older women not as relics but as living vessels of love, reminding us that preserving culture also means honoring our elders.
Bonus for Religion: +0.00
While Diwali is a major Hindu festival, the story largely frames the holiday through cultural traditions, spiritual practices, and emotional symbolism rather than prominent religious depictions.
Bonus for Body Diversity +0.00
A character makes a passing remark, “I’m just trying to make it in a city where no one respects a woman over size 4,” exposing a pressure to stay thin that’s shaped by intersecting gender, cultural, and professional expectations. The character’s keto diet, which keeps her from enjoying Diwali sweets, further illustrates the cost of society’s obsession with thinness. That being said, the cast itself demonstrates very little body diversity.
Mediaversity Grade: A- 4.42/5
Set against the glow of the Festival of Lights, A Diwali Dilemma examines a Desi woman’s struggle to find happiness in a predominantly white and corporate environment. Modest in scope but sharp in intent, the short reminds viewers that diversity without respect and knowledge is empty—and holding on to one’s cultural identity is the brightest act of defiance.
Like A Diwali Dilemma? Try these other titles comprised of shorts or based on a short film.
Step Into My Office (2019)
Vai (2019)
The Climb (2020)