‘Nadigar Pandi’ is a film that is sure to stay with you for a long time. It is honest and hard-hitting. The poignancy it brings to life on screen is effortless, and succeeds in creating an impactful effect on the audience. 

The eponymous protagonist is a struggling actor who has been trying his luck, and skill in the field for over three decades, as he is quick to remind and repeat throughout the course of the narrative. There is a suggestion of bitterness and resentment, but there is also integrity and self-respect. Despite all the obstacles, which include severe monetary tribulation and the ensuing practical problems, there is no regret or self-doubt about his decision to be an actor. 

The film does a seamless, elegant job of tying all of these emotions together, as well as presenting a protagonist that is powerful and unforgettable. The viewer remains engaged all along in the fate of Nadigar Pandi, who we meet on a very crucial day of his life, and cannot help, but find themselves deeply invested in what eventually follows.

Nadigar Pandi | Short Film Nominee

The short film introduces us to two actors with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Both of them wait in the green room, preparing for a scene crucial for their respective careers - a role with dialogues. Their contrasting personalities depict the different mindsets, opinions and ways of life the two generations have.
 

On the one hand, we have the calmer and humbler older artist who has made peace with his current place in the industry, he understands its inner workings and thus, radiates a positivity and gravity that accompanies maturity. On the other, there is the impulsive, motivated younger artist who is still trying to understand and perfect the art form, along with the work and the life that it constitutes. As they connect and discuss the nitty-gritty of their personal and professional lives as actors, a deep bond and understanding develops.

Green Room: Thehrav | Short Film Nominee

The film is about the struggles of an actor who has been trying to achieve fame and success for over a decade. However, with no such reward in sight, despite all his hard work and efforts, his domestic life is crumbling. Once a marriage of love, elopement and perhaps excitement, the household is now afflicted with poverty and the misery. Matters come to a head after a humiliating interaction with an arrogant director and his team. Things unravel one after another, leading the protagonist to respond in a way that will leave the viewer surprised, at the least. The film does not exhibit extraordinary camerawork or storytelling, but is taken several notches higher by Ashutosh Rana's skilled performance.

Test Drive | Ashutosh Rana | Short Film of the Day

The film opens on a note of high drama, a break-up is in the process of unfolding where the jilted lover is deeply disturbed at the treatment meted out to him by his beloved. However, this tone of despair is soon undercut by humour at the expense of the protagonist who endeavours to get an audition video right, one wasted attempt after another. He is unwavering even in the face of all failure. The narrative adopts a fun, lighthearted tone to introduce us to the protagonist's inability to strike the right emotional chord in the video, and the several eccentric and adventurous solutions he applies to overcome the same. The completed product is of an entertaining film which maps various emotions during the course of the day in his life, justifying its title, while also surprising the viewer with its unexpected ending, after having led them astray deliberately in order to eventually catch them unaware.

Emotion | Short Film Nominee

The story is of an intense conversation between a struggling actor, portrayed convincingly, and an unnamed character. Throughout the film, a sense of suspense is invoked regarding the identity of this faceless speaker who riles up the protagonist and drives him to despair and hopelessness. In a lot of ways, the narrative is about overcoming your demons, irrespective of the obstacles that mar a person's path to their dreams. The whole drama unfolds within the confines of the same room and shows potential in terms of the camerawork that can be developed further in the future projects of the team.

The Voices | Short Film Nominee

Using elements of suspense and thrill, the short film conjures its narrative and leaves the viewer shocked as the events come to culminate. The story is simply of an actor trying to succeed at an audition. However, when things take a turn for the worse, what unexpected, fateful events would come to define the course of his life?

The Audition | Lockdown Film Challenge

A moment of unease is put into motion the moment the story opens. However, the swift camera movement soon reveals the circumstance of the plot to be a regular day at a shoot being carried out between two people. The scene that is being executed is marked by its high-intensity, and it is at this juncture that the opening sentiment of discomfort comes back into play. However would it adequately prepare you for the consequent developments, those that would come to be defined by violence and aggression?

The Perfect Take | Lockdown Film Challenge

Practical pursuits often become the most powerful adversary of dreams and expressions of creativity. The short film is an exploration of the same divide as well as the struggle to reconcile societal and familial expectations with an individual's true desires. However, even though the forever forward moving passage of time might force you to give up on the latter for the former, do dreams actually die or do they continue to exist within us, waiting to resurface following the slightest motivation?

Break | Lockdown Film Challenge

The short film opens with startling images of a bloody knife, a lifeless body and a wailing husband confessing his crime in a passionate outburst. However, as he proceeds to explore the misplaced reasons for his actions and drown in deep-seated guilt, a comedic subversion of events reveals the entire scene to be an audition. A voice from behind the camera challenges his acting skills, commenting on his inability to step into the character and shed tears, articulating dialogues and so on. 
They go through several takes for a perfectly delivered scene. However, did they really succeed or lose something essential in the process? Does the narrative suggest something deeper than otherwise visible to the eye at first glance? The final result raises all of these questions, while also attempting to use color to convey underpinnings of the plot, eventually offering its conclusion, and the answers, to the viewer.

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