Anukul is a story by Satyajit Ray that is enhanced in the most elegant way by Sujoy Ghosh's filmmaking. The narrative is about a school teacher who decides to get a robot one day to take care of his domestic chores. Set in West Bengal, the plot touches upon a concern which is also relevant in contemporary times, one of artificial intelligence making humans redundant. The dim-lighting of the film further helps to invoke a sense of tension and uncertainty about the human fate as well as their conflicted equation with machines. The film is subtle, powerful and, irrespective of the side you find yourself on when it comes to apprehensions about AI, sure to move you.

Anukul | Short Film of the Day

This is West Bengal through the eyes of a tourist, as she embarks upon her journey. The short film encapsulates the essence of Bengal in about three minutes - from Kolkata streets to Sunderbans, from Bengali cuisine to Durga Puja. It is a series of beautifully shot visuals put together to take the viewer along with the tourist as she moves from one experience to the other. Add a little bit of Shah Rukh Khan towards the end, and the romanticising of the state, replete with its natural and cultural glory, is complete.

West Bengal Tourism | Short Film of the Day

If a horror story is executed expertly, it can lead you to instinctively look around for company, to ensure you are not alone and vulnerable for whatever fictional monster or demon you have just encountered on screen. However, the flip side to it is the high possibility of it all going wrong and leaving you with cringe-inducing humour. Fortunately, Mukho-Churi falls in the first category and catches the viewer by terrifying shock at what unfolds before them. The film deserves a especial mention for its visual effects and the usage of sound, two elements which make it succeed. It is late at night as two professionals light a cigarette, share a horror story and get back to work. However, because of a mistake, a simple act of forgetfulness, a very dark twist awaits the characters. In a world that is plagued by witch-hunts and cruelty, what would be their fate?

Mukho-Churi|Short Film of the Day

‘Arko’ is the exploration of primarily a father-son equation. The territory extends to include dynamics of the entire familial space, that of a mother and her child, and the husband-wife themselves, but its predominant preoccupation remains a conversation between Asit and his son, Arko. 

The eventual outcome of this exchange presents a story the viewer did not expect at first glance. The film does a notable job of deliberately keeping them away from it. The consequent world-building comes to be defined by loss, heartache, regret, and the overarching notion of what could have been. 

The end result is further marked by a song that sings of the human condition, expressed in poetic metaphors about words, and their might and influence on emotional states. When tragedy tears life asunder, the only thing left in its wake is a wishful indulgence in a world that will never be, asserts the film in its quiet melancholy.

Arko | Short Film Nominee

‘Afterbirth’ offers a narrative that ties history and politics with poetry and domesticity. The path to realize these thematic concerns is weaved with care as the film captures a tumultuous moment of public strife, one that also reflects the emotional and mental strife of two people unable to find fulfilment in this world, and yet seeking it relentlessly. 

Through Tani and Nator, the film not only presents its philosophical preoccupations, but further questions the traditional nature of marriage and the restrictive norms it often entails. In Tani, we see an intelligent woman who is unhesitant in asserting her views and desires, even if it sometimes means calling out the escapism and denial of a man she is deeply in love with despite, and perhaps, even because of it. 

The film deftly employs soft, diffused visuals, invoking an otherworldliness, even if showing a want of slightly more control, to bring its reality to life. The portrayal of its characters and the storytelling remain noteworthy elements, along with writing being a standout characteristic, ensuring that you stay with the plot and its many layers right till the very end.

Afterbirth | Short Film Nominee

The story of the film is a noteworthy element as it attempts an engagement with the ideas of identity and self in the early nineties. The narrative is of a shy, introverted boy who finds himself falling in love with his piano tutor's daughter. Maya is fearless, creative and opinionated. The film portrays her charm in a manner that conveys to the viewer why Anjan is drawn to her. Unable to overcome his hesitation, he finds himself developing an alter ego to talk to her over the phone. However, in the process, as he succeeds in making Maya fall in love with him, the audience is left wondering whether the identity he adopts is who he truly is or is he the shy, reserved boy Maya sees every day? The film is an exploration of these ideas and how they become convoluted as we try to fit in or rebel against boundaries that are imposed to define the self.

Maya | Short Film of the Day

The film captures your attention right from the word go by taking you into a night in the life of a seedy taxi driver. As he drools over images of skimpily-clad women in a magazine, the most unexpected customer sits in his vehicle for a late night trip. The uncanny passenger brings with her an atmosphere of eeriness which ascertains for the viewer that something is deeply amiss. The narrative then moves between the driver's dream and wakefulness, blurring the lines between what is real and what isn't both for the protagonist and the viewer. Just when he is about to commit a malicious act, he is met with the most shocking development. The film does a notable job of weaving its narrative, keeping the viewer hooked throughout. It further employs remarkable camerawork, complemented by a closely-controlled play of light to conjure its world of strange passengers and a taxi driver who has now found himself in the midst of an incident that will perhaps come to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Ei Taxi | Short Film Nominee

Jhinge and Bowal are out on a mission - to move up in their life of petty crime and transition into something more meaty...perhaps a murder. As life would have it, they are soon presented with the perfect opportunity - the killing of a lawyer. After spending a few days observing him from afar, the two men get to work (to their best capacity). 

The film engages with all of this, roping in elements of an entertaining buddy film, as well as those of crime, humor, and drama. The chemistry between its characters is effortless, thereby enhancing the final result. The punches, sometimes frivolous and flippant, other times more sustained and deliberate, all land, allowing it to further succeed in sharing its story. 

The storytelling is marked by a comprehensive beginning, middle and end. The shadowy, dim-lit visuals further conjure an adequate image of the world for you. The film loses some points in the department of sound, but this is easy to overlook in the face of the end product, and everything that it eventually offers.

Bondhuk Baaji| Short Film of the Day

As we are met with a girl right before she leaves her bed and jumps into the day, the title suggests that this morning is a little out of the ordinary. The moment she begins scrolling down her phone, looking for birthday wishes with grogginess still in her eyes, our guess is confirmed, and we then become equal participants in her morning routine. Amidst it all, however, a fallen earring lies ignored on the floor, and a sense of something amiss never truly leaves the narrative. 

The writing does a notable job of conjuring this suggestion of unease, not revealing its cards until the very juncture when the final revelation begins. The charming protagonist ensures that we are deeply involved in her world of music and chirpiness before we begin to preempt what is about to unfold. The seamless edit and visuals together become the most marked strengths of the film, offering a completed whole to the viewer to interact with.

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