‘Urvarit’ (Remaining) takes you into its world slowly, but definitively. At the film's opening, we are presented with a moment that is already fully-formed. It is the aftermath of a death, locating the characters as well as the viewer in the heart of all that follows thereafter. 
Sharada, an aging woman, has lost her partner of many years. While she braces herself for the life of loneliness that will ensue, a life which still carries the very specific markers of what it was when she shared it with her husband, from an empty bed to a forgotten pair of slippers, her family of two sons and daughter-in-laws has already started making preparations for the rituals, formalities and other worldly duties that need to be taken care of. 

As much as the narrative is marked by the constant conversation of the said family members, it is also marked by Sharada’s silence and lack of participation in it all. In the process, the film offers a nuanced comment on loss, grief, but above all, on the shape existence acquires for those who get left behind in the wake of death.

Urvarit | Short Film Nominee

Afterglow attempts a poignant engagement with grief and bereavement, and succeeds at it beautifully. The story is of a Parsi widow dealing with the emptiness and sorrow left in the wake of her husband's death. This national award winning film weaves together the loss of the present and the fond memories of the past in an effortless manner. It tugs at the heartstrings of the viewer by subtly delineating the wife's struggle with the didactic nature of rites and rituals, as well as the hollow condolences of others. It further offers a touching portrayal of a couple waging a losing battle against a chronic disease, acceptance and the eventual letting go of pain to heal and recover.

Afterglow | Short Film of the Day

A heady mixture of supernatural fantasy and horror, of memory and past, and the flow of time, riding steadfastly on Adil Hussain’s impeccable performance, Nirvana Inn presents to you the many far-reaching effects of a fractured psyche. 

Jogiraj is a caretaker of a property in Himachal Pradesh, of the eponymous resort where strange events soon begin to stick their head out in the most disturbing and unexpected ways. Alongside these developments are strewn little bits of information about Jogiraj’s past which together begin to weave a story of a dark secret that now threatens to consume the protagonist’s present. 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/TzloPxWh.png">
 

The narrative does a beautifully skilled job of looking inwards, more than outwards. Horror is invoked by employing the manifestations of these intimate functionings on the immediate physical reality and not the other way round. Amidst the memories that haunt Jogiraj, the question implicit to the narrative then becomes, can this particular inn, a reminder of the redemption and salvation that could be the fate of a truly repentant soul, indeed be the space of Jogiraj’s redemption as well? Is the inn truly an in-between realm that straddles the possibility of both heaven and hell? 

Every night, Jogi is presented with a deeply unsettling growling on the roof of his living quarters, as if the hounds of hell have descended themselves to take charge of his soul. Additionally, strange guests enter and exit this space with tremors in their wake that become instrumental in Jogi’s unravelling. Once again, as reality bleeds into dream, the external world simply serves to echo the internal machinations of Jogi’s mind, deepening the chasm that exists between within and without. 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/qfPAQ3Ch.png">
 

In the process, the role of guilt, survival, suicide, and eventually, death, all become crucial to the development of the plot. Motifs and symbols in the form of masks, sustained silences (the film has no dialogue for the first few minutes, for instance), folk art forms, and a background score that further pronounces the eeriness of them all, together allow the film to show, not tell. Whether the supernatural elements are truly souls driven by vindictiveness, or if they are a result of a man unable to reconcile his guilt of a terrible accident, remains another core underpinning of the narrative. All of these elements together allow the final result to bring to life uniqueness of approach and treatment of thematic concerns. 

Nirvana Inn is definitely an ambitious project, with indeed some hits and misses, but the overarching storytelling remains skilled and notable, with Adil Hussain’s expertise and finesse as an actor being one of the true triumphs of the film. Additionally, Rajshri Deshpande as Mohini, is quietly powerful, ensuring that the viewer is at the edge of their seats every time she enters to deliver one or the other mysterious, alluring and clandestine developments. 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/PjrG2gYh.png">
 

 The writing too remains a marked strength of the film. The film should be relished for the freshness it brings to the table, using tools and devices that have existed all along. However, finding the right combination and balance of these, sometimes complementary, other times disparate, is what makes a story work, and it is precisely that that the film endeavors and presents to you.

 
Written by Rosheena Zehra

Nirvana Inn | Adil Hussain, Vijay Jayapal, Rajshri Deshpande, Sandhya Mridul

An idyllic space marked by shikaras, roses, adornment and smiles constitute the world of the film at first glance. At the heart of this narrative is a loving father-daughter equation, and a kind doctor who visits them regularly for follow-ups. However, this realm of love and longing is soon disrupted as tragedy strikes, following a shooting in a marketplace. 

By tying matters of the heart, and the ensuing complications, with the terrible reality of Kashmir that gets embroiled in the turbulent political terrain of the region, the film also presents the darkness of what lies beneath the surface of the Valley’s spectacular beauty. As foiled expectations, the motif of a red flower, tenderness of a hurt heart all make their presence felt, the film comes into its own. Though the narrative sometimes runs the danger of a little laxity, the end result remains especially notable in its visual progression and the performances it brings to life.

My Father's Doctor | Short Film Nominee

The story of the film is about several things - it is about bereavement, the consequent grief, trauma and what it means to always be at war with your loved ones regarding the decisions of your life. Its title, which loosely translates to make-belief, further offers a comment on how several restrictions that truly hold us back, find a home inside our minds first, even before they achieve a physical manifestation. The film employs beautiful visuals to share its intentions and a plot that is notable for its thrill and the unpredictability of the direction it is headed in. It is for this reason that while the narrative might first give the impression of being a drama, it soon unfolds to reveal a darker reality - one of violence, overpowering authority figures, the duress of forever being under scrutiny and the disturbing outcome it might eventually result in, allowing it to be an engaging, relevant, as well as entertaining product.

Mangadhant | Short Film of the Day

The short film is a calm conversation with grief, longing, heartache and the inexorable passage of time. Based on a short story by Madhumita Dasgupta, it opens on the first death anniversary of a man who is survived by his daughter, living by herself in their house. The narrative progresses to reveal her own struggles and internal obstacles left in the wake of her father's death. The story engages with several aspects of life that range from relationships to the hard, practical realities of life. Its storytelling is further supplemented by a poetic narration by Naseeruddin Shah, moving in and out of the film most organically and smoothly. The film exhibits a sophisticated tying together of visuals that enable it to communicate what it had set out to successfully. While we may forever endeavour to compartmentalise our feelings and rationalise the various events of life, there are indeed some vagaries that transcend all of these categories, underlines the film with its quiet conclusion.

Bin Bulaaye | Short Film of the Day

Smritir Pak, or Maze of Memory, is precisely that, an engagement with the past, time and memory. As a boy sits in his room, the story follows a non-linear trajectory to take the viewer down the same memory line as the protagonist. He revisits his childhood, and also the fantasies and imaginary friends he took comfort in to cope with it. While the symbols of childhood still exist (a red balloon, the memory of a friend who perhaps never existed), their meaning have completely changed. From climbing trees and running in fields, to strumming a guitar in the confines of a room - the protagonist has covered a long journey. The narrative is weaved with a sense of melancholy that never truly leaves the viewer. There is further a sense of the forward movement of life, but one which is never devoid of the past it always carries with it.

Smritir Pak | Short Film Nominee

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.

Birthday | Short Film of the Day

The film starts off at a note that suggests a regular day in the life of a man who is headed out somewhere. In a shop that is replete with curios and antiques, he stumbles across a telephone. The phone is not only pretty to look at, but is also in working condition. However, little does he or the viewer realize what kinds of calls it is truly capable of making. 

The narrative ropes in the supernatural, a communication link between the realms of the living and the dead, and the strangest, most unexpected manner in which all of this comes together in the life of the protagonist. The story does not employ darkness, jump scares or any overt thrills to conjure its intended element of horror, and yet, leaves the viewer with a sense of eeriness.

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