In cinema sometimes less is more and this rings even more true for animation. Most blockbuster animation films market themselves as being hyper-realistic, but often only provide lacklustre results. Animation works at its best with a clear stylistic vision. Miyakazi's Spirited Away looks completely different from Up. Both are great films in their own right and that is the flexibility of the medium. Geetanjali Rao has done the same with her hand painted animation film. 

<h2>'Bombay Rose' has wonderfully used Indian pulp magazine art, comics and vintage movie posters for reference points for Mumbai, painting the landscapes and figures with blurred lines while keeping the characters' features sharp and well defined. Shadows and depths are painted religiously, frame by frame. Some sequences even find inspiration in folk art and Mughal art of miniatures and side portraits. </h2>

The stylistic choices give the film a look that is groundbreaking in Indian animation. It oozes the flavour of Mumbai in a manner that an amalgamation of different cultures becomes a towering presence in the narrative. The soundtrack features songs from Goan music, groovy and erratic, juxtaposed against a Hindi heartland ballad invoking Maa Rewa(Narmada) on a modern rendition. 


The film revolves around three characters, Shellie D'Souza, Kamala and Salim who are tied together by, among other things, a rose. The brilliantly chosen characters allow an exploration of different parts of Mumbai.
 

Miss D'Souza clings to a glorious past. She reminisces a retro Bollywood film she starred in with the love of her life. Her memories are haunted by the days far gone. Piece by piece, she pawns her invaluable relics that no one really buys. Her narrative progresses to reveal that even her house is a symbol of the city's past - a garden where fresh flowers grow only to reach a graveyard.
 

These flowers find Salim, a migrant with a tragic past, and then Kamala. Both are outsiders who come to the city, the land of opportunity, seeking escape from a terrible life. Similar to countless other films, they find themselves stuck in the city's ugly underbelly. This interaction between the old and the new isn't merely black and white. As dance bars are replaced by high-end clubs where dancers continue to get trafficked, vices of the past persevere for an existence in the present.
<h2>All three characters come from different religions and social strata. Their stories coalesce into a larger picture of a city's consciousness - one that is dying and rejuvenating at the same time. </h2>

Miss D'Souza is a doomed romantic who walks through the streets as we see them returning to how they looked in previous decades. Salim and Kamala often find respite from their mundane daily lives through fantasy and escapism. Salim seeks solace in movies and imagining himself in legends of heroes; Kamala fantasises about being a rich bride in the Mughal era. 

<h2>As these fantasies exist in the world of crime and moral degeneration, one as real as the other, Gitanjali Rao fluently moves from fantasy to reality, often blurring the line between the two and splashing paint all over the screen. </h2>

The screenplay is tight with the visuals threaded together so fluently as if they are a part of one gigantic canvas, where colours dictate the cuts, not a camera. The narrative moves freely from the story to fantasies or extended sequences with roses to dance numbers.
The real achievement of the film, however, is the homage it is able to pay to Indian cinema, to Mumbai and to the diverse people who inhabit it. 

Written by Nimish K Sharma

Bombay Rose | Anurag Kashyap, Gitanjali Rao

Dry Day is a modern take on frail father-son relationships, and how little gestures can go a long way in mending them. Shashank Arora and Shishir Sharma are both brilliant as the loner young son and the awkward sweet father respectively. This short film will surely leave you with a smile.

Dry Day | Short Film of the Day

The short film opens with two friends sharing a drink; one is a more indulgent drinker, the other a bit wary, mostly for his friend's sake. Right at the start of the narrative, despite all the humour and jokes, there is a hint of a darker undertone. Remembering their past relationships, the two friends, played effortlessly by Satish Kaushik and Shishir Sharma, end up tussling on the floor over a phone. Immediately after, the tone of the scene changes from being lighthearted to one of secrecy, regrets and deep pain. When Tera Jaisa Yaar Kahan opens, it does not even remotely suggest the direction it's headed in. This indeed is one of the many highlights of this story of friendship, loss and the many forms of love.

Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan | Short Film of the Day

The short film carries a very relevant social message for the viewer who is willing to stick till the end. Fortunately, that won't be a problem in this Naseeruddin Shah-led narrative. Rogan Josh is the story of a meal time when a family sits down to enjoy a birthday dinner with their friends. Throughout, there are suggestions of a deeper, darker subtext even for the most inattentive viewer. However, as the plot thickens, these cues are going to become subtle and bewildering. Watch closely for you wouldn't want to miss the climax and closure this short film has in store for you.

Rogan Josh | Short Film of the Day

The web-series is an exploration of familial ties, and marked by the coming together of humour, gravity, efforts to fit in and belong, and the one thing that keeps it all together - love. What the Folks is a validation of the unease and the underlying tension that constitutes most domestic equations. It is a reminder for the viewer that if you are still negotiating your place in your family, you're not alone. Here are a bunch of different and unique characters attempting to achieve the same in a fictive space onscreen.

What The Folks | Web Series | Dice Media | Eisha Chopra, Shishir Sharma, Kriti Vij

What The Folks | Dice Media

The short film opens in medias res, taking the viewer directly into the heart of the matter without wasting a moment. Raghav is being questioned by Sana, a cop with Mumbai police, for the murder of his wife, Alia. What is particularly unique and strange about this premise is the fact that Raghav has confessed to killing her. And yet, the investigation continues for both Sana, and the viewer, as convinced by the narrative, are suspicious of some kind of foul play. The case is not as simple or direct as Raghav has endeavoured to make it appear. A deeper look into their marriage reveals an absence of conflict. Alia's parents adore Raghav more than her, there is also a mention of a vacation that the couple was planning with their friends. The film continues to weave a story which thickens at every turn. Each development leaves the plot more obscured than the previous juncture. As matters come to a head with little to no revelations and answers in sight, one resounding question remains - what truly happened to Alia - iff Raghav indeed did not kill her, why did he confess to the crime? Rashq makes a zealous attempt to tie emotions with acts of passion; characters going down paths they may have not imagined possible in a million years, and yet, here we are with an unsolved murder where the husband insists that he is indeed the murderer. However, when the several threads are tied together, will it be Raghav's account or Sana's suspicions that would eventually hold true?

Rashq | Shishir Sharma | Short Film Nominee

The film opens on Dr Vaidya’s final day at work before retirement from his practice as a psychiatrist. While the doctor is taking care of some final tasks, after giving instructions to his junior, Dr Radhika, he finds himself before an unexpected visitor, Ajay, a former patient who had been in isolation until that point. 

Through the conversation that ensues between the two, the film exhibits strength and potential in terms of writing and storytelling. As the characters continue to argue it out, they both present their respective points on the significance, juxtaposed against the pitfalls and adverse consequences, of the treatment of those with mental disorders. Two opposite ends of the spectrum are painted for the viewer. 

The tension continues to mount until the narrative reaches a point from where there is no looking away. Even at this juncture, it offers one final development that endeavors to thicken the plot further, finally tying its many components together.

Newton's Pendulum | Short Film Nominee

While the Indian legal system fails to decriminalise marital rape, or sexual abuse of any kind within matrimony, it is a prevalent, ugly reality of the world. Sardard makes an effort to contribute to the dialogue around the same issue, and thereby has its heart in the right place. The story is of a conversation between a father and his son ahead of the latter's imminent wedding. The premise of the film is well-intentioned, yet the narrative does not make efficient use of visuals, and under-utilises a skilled actor like Shishir Sharma. It catches the viewer by surprise, but does not fully provide them with a sense of completion at the end of it all. However, on the whole, the film deserves brownie points for its endeavour to engage with the topic of sexual abuse in a domestic setup.

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