A common thread for all successful romance stories are the nuances and subtleties that are employed in telling them. Among its other strengths, this is the first thing Kaande Pohe captures most effortlessly. Add to it convincing performances and chemistry, and there is little that can go wrong. The scene is set for a meeting between two families for the arranged marriage of their children. This in itself is not an entirely unique subject matter for a short film. However, when the film manages to still tell its story in a completely new fashion, it deserves all the brownie points. It is further a comment on the deep infestation of technology, smartphones and social media in every aspect of our lives. 
 While the previous generation, or as the internet would call them, "boomers", fail to understand the charm of these modern values, seemingly in direct contrast with the sanskaar that is expected of a young woman preparing to get married, the millennials have decided to sink their heels deep into the ground, refusing to budge. With its lovely colour palettes, calm storytelling and honesty in building the narrative, the film is the warm fuzzies you need this Valentine's Week.

Kaande Pohe | Short Film of the Day

At first glance, Bittu is confident, endearing, and entertaining. The viewer is already taken by her from the get-go which is why even though her reality is revealed to be quite different from this, we do not stop rooting for her. If at all, our support becomes firmer. 

The protagonist has a stammer, a characteristic that costs her greatly within the arranged marriage market. The narrative does an efficient job of portraying her battles in a film that remains consistent with the effervescence it had opened with, irrespective of the change of tonality, as well as the core of the subject matter, which has become darker and heavier by now. It does not weigh itself down with melodrama and, in the process, manages to communicate an entire spectrum of emotions with ease. 


The film becomes a beautiful exploration of the many nuances and dynamics that form Bittu’s life and familial relationships, including an ever-loving father, a concerned mother, and an unexpected knock of love at the doorstep. The chemistry between the actors aids the endeavor further, ensuring that the end result delivers on its promises of presenting romance, drama, and some more, to the viewer.

Bittu | Short Film of the Month

As the title suggests, the predominant part of the film comes to revolve around a single violent act, one of a husband slapping his wife while being quarantined during the coronavirus lockdown. On the face of it, the plot might seem to be about domestic violence in couples during these health crisis. However, that is precisely how the narrative hoodwinks the unwitting viewer, and instead offers a far more unexpected conclusion to the story.

Slapped | Lockdown Film Challenge

Fit India is the story of twenty-five-year-old Ganika who is overweight, and faces constant body shaming.
She suffers repeated rejections by suitors who come to examine her, as is customary in an arranged
marriage set-up in India. Ganika strives to balance her own self-esteem and aspirations with the social
expectations. 
On the surface level, the film is light-comedy that imbibes millennial jargon and behaviours to become
relatable and consumable. The lead actor playing Ganika, as well as the rest of the cast, live up to
what’s expected of their performance. However, it also seeks to straddle its own aspirations of
delivering something new and unique, and an attempt to employ mainstream tropes in order to increase its appeal for a larger section of the audience. The film offers a simple engagement with issues of body shaming and how it gets tied with the patriarchal gaze of Indian society, while perhaps also striving for introspection of their own thoughts and perspectives on the part of the viewer.

Fit India | Short Film Nominee

Using visuals of only hands and feet, coupled with a voiceover, the film brings to life a heartwarming story of a couple finding their way to each other. While an arranged marriage might have put them together physically, it is finally spending time in close quarters and trying to make the best of their situation following the coronavirus lockdown, that truly leads them to one another in a far more intimate manner, portrays the film.

Homemade | Lockdown Film Challenge

Societal constructs are such that they often force people to lead double lives - one which allows them acceptance, second which allows them their own happiness and mental peace. The short film uses the same duality as its premise. Through the situation of a meeting between two individuals, pressured into giving arranged marriage a try by their families, the story invokes a sense of entrapment they feel vis-a-vis their familial expectations. Additionally, the film explores homosexuality and the dynamics of same-sex relationships with respect to a country which has forgotten its liberal and accommodating past. Behind the Veil attempts all of this and more in its well-intentioned manner, reminding the viewer that all might not be lost just yet in this world of stereotypes and preconceived notions.

Behind The Veil | Short Film Nominee

This is a story of twenty-five-year-old man whose family wants him to get married. They are trying to change his
mind by making comments like, “If you marry at the right age, it is sunrise, otherwise it is compromise” or
“Life without wife is like a boring movie without an item song”. They are even breaking into songs to
urge him. He shares his stress with his friends who also offer him all kinds of advice. They also perform a
similar sketch to influence him. But the protagonist has some serious concerns to share which no one seems to
be paying any heed to.

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