POV: Amako Tika

30 seconds, horizontal 16:9, audio enabled.

POV: AMAKO TIKA

[GOAL]

Create an intimate Dashain short that begins with the warmth of receiving grandmother’s blessing, then reveals that she is a loved one who has passed away. The ending should feel both unsettling and tender.

[CHARACTERS]

An adult man wearing a blue hoodie.
His elderly grandmother, Dadi, with wrinkled hands and a gentle expression.
His mother, moving through the room during the celebration.

Keep all three appearances and outfits consistent. The grandmother’s framed photograph must unmistakably depict the same woman seated beside him.

[SETTING]

A Nepali family living room during Dashain Tika. A wooden chair beside a low table holding red tika, yellow-green jamara, and a plate of sel roti.

Dadi’s framed memorial portrait hangs on the nearby wall. Its glass is clean when briefly visible early in the scene.

Warm daylight enters through a side window.

[0–3 SECONDS | DADI IS HERE]

Handheld selfie-style composition, with the man’s face in the foreground and Dadi seated beside him.

Her wrinkled fingers gently press red tika onto his forehead. He closes his eyes and smiles.

Keep her hand, his forehead, and her affectionate expression clearly visible.

On-screen text:
“POV: It's Tika day… and dadi is here. 🪔”

Small secondary text:
“follow for daily AI reels”

Sound: soft household activity and the close rustle of her sleeve.

[3–10 SECONDS | THE BLESSING]

Close detail of Dadi tucking jamara behind his ear.

She softly murmurs an affectionate Nepali aashirwad. Her delivery is gentle and unhurried.

He bows his head slightly beneath her blessing.

Brief close-up of the sel roti plate, then return to their faces. He looks at her with the ease of someone experiencing a familiar childhood ritual.

Keep the light golden and the camera movement small.

[10–18 SECONDS | NOBODY NOTICES]

Widen into a shared composition showing Dadi’s chair, the man, and the path behind them.

His mother walks past the chair carrying a small plate. She briefly acknowledges her son but never looks toward Dadi or pauses to greet her.

He watches his mother pass, then looks back at Dadi.

His smile fades slightly. He glances around, searching for someone else’s acknowledgment.

Dadi remains quietly seated, watching him with the same gentle expression.

Gradually soften the warm color and reduce the household chatter. Keep the physical room unchanged.

On-screen text:
“No one else sees her.”

[18–26 SECONDS | THE PHOTOGRAPH]

Follow his eyeline toward the framed memorial portrait.

Slow push toward the glass.

A fresh, wet red tika smear lies across Dadi’s forehead in the photograph. Its raised rice grains and moisture catch the window light.

The smear is on the outside of the glass, not printed within the photograph.

Story context: he personally wiped this frame clean that morning. Convey recognition through his reaction without adding a flashback.

Cut back to his face.

His smile freezes. His eyes flick toward the red tika on his own fingers, then back toward the chair.

His breathing catches. His eyes fill, but he does not speak.

Let the silence carry the realization.

[26–30 SECONDS | THE EMPTY CHAIR]

Cut to his view of Dadi’s chair.

It is empty.

One small jamara sprig rests on the seat. Hold the chair long enough for her absence to register.

On-screen text:
“She visits every Tika. 🪔”

Finish with the chair framed on the same side of the image that Dadi occupies in the opening, allowing a clean loop back to her hand applying tika.

[CONTINUITY AND SOUND]

The jamara behind his ear remains in place. The sprig on the empty chair is separate.

Keep the tika on his forehead and the wet smear on the photograph visible after they appear.

Reveal Dadi’s absence through the cut to the chair. No visible disappearance effect.

Use natural room ambience, fabric movement, plate sounds, Dadi’s soft blessing, and the man’s breathing. Let the blessing fall silent before the photograph reveal.

No jump-scare sound, monster imagery, distorted faces, additional captions, added logos, or watermarks.