You know something big is in store when the likes of Neeraj Ghywan, Sujoy Ghosh, Tisca Chopra, Soumyanath Pal and Anurag Kashyap come together on a stage. At the ongoing Jio MAMI Film Festival, short films by these imminent industry personalities were showcased and they also shared the tips and tricks with aspiring filmmakers, promoting the platform of short film as a commodity and as something that will define consumption of narratives in future. Selected four stories, Juice, Churri, Death of a Father and Anukul, were showcased at the festival and each had its own flavour, proving the fact that short films of every genre can engage the audience.
Opening the lot was Juice written by Neeraj Ghaywan and starring Shefali Shah. The film talks about the seeping patriarchy that clutches its paw into our day to day lives. In the household of Singhs, Manju finds herself shuttling between the ‘privileged’ men and women, unveiling kitchen and gender politics. Talking about the film Ghaywan said, “We don’t even realize but we gender discriminate on a day to day basis. The fact that no one actually thinks of putting a fan in the kitchen shows how much we care or cared about the women in the house."
The second film was by Mansi Jian, co-written by and starring Tisca Chopra. Titled Churri, the film also stars Suvreen Chawla and Anurag Kashyap and deals with a couple where the philandering husband has an affair outside of his marriage. The plot of the movie will create curiosity in the minds of the viewer when the wife confronts the mistress and an unusual and surprising twist transpires.
Talking about the film and its cast Tisca recalled, “There are not too many men in the industry who could take a joke on themselves, so when the script was finally ready the only person that came to our mind was Anurag." The director, known for making his actors do whatever he wants, added, “The story was exciting and I’ve been a fan of Tisca and what she’s been doing in the short story space. It was a real out of body experience for me and a little petrifying to be the only man on the set full of women. Now I know what actresses go through in a male dominating set. Churri changed me as a person."
The third film was an animated drama presented by Court’s director Chaitanya Tamhane. The film simply tells the story of a boy who loses his father and the proceedings after that. The frame by frame animation is what makes this film unique and the simple narrative engaging. Talking about the film, the director Somnath Pal said, “Some real-life elements have come into play while making the film. While it’s hard to make an animated film, short film space gives you the opportunity to experiment."
The last of the lot was Sujoy Ghosh’s ode to Satyajit Ray’s Anukul. The futuristic story found its ground cinematically in a short film platform. Starring Saurabh Shukla and Parambrata Chhatopadhya, the film is about a robot and how he learns the meaning of ‘dhrama’ and ‘deceit’ serving his duty to his owner. The black mirror-ish approach to the story and authenticity of Ghosh’s retelling of Ray that makes Anukul an engaging watch. Talking about the film Ghosh said, “I have been inspired by Ray since I was a kid and it took me 40 years to bring my favourite film to celluloid through the platform of the short film."
“ I am grateful that Saurabh Shukla agreed to work on the film for free, otherwise the budget wouldn’t have allowed me to justify the futuristic world Ray saw." He quips.
All the creative minds behind the Select Large Short Films agreed that now short film-making is the platform that would introduce the auteur of Indian Cinema to the world. “This is the time to do what you always wanted to do." ends Kashyap on a positive note.
Watch the trailer of Anukul here:
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