‘Seher’ is a heartfelt film, bringing to life a quiet mellowness on screen. The entirety of it is a conversation between Abhay and Hussna, a conversation that begins at a very pivotal point in the night for both characters. 

The ensuing exchange offers an earnest exploration of grief, loss, death, heartbreak, and some more. As they catch up, we hear of the many tribulations that afflict their lives in the form of infidelity, the uncertainty of life for a freelancer, financial troubles, the obstacles presented by the pandemic, mental health issues, and failure in love. 

The myriad emotions are shared without overwhelming the narrative. Even though we never see the two characters together in the same physical space, their palpable chemistry portrays the film’s reality with conviction and ease. The thread that ties the film as one is held tightly in place by a beautiful exploration of a Platonic friendship, and the idea of people saving each other not by grand gestures, but by simply sharing small, simple pockets of bonding, care, and affection.

Seher | Short Film of the Day

Thorny plants, peeling walls, and some other dying corners of a house establish the tone of the film for the viewer. A sick man lies bedridden when he is visited by a concerned, panicked well-wisher. The man instead focuses on a plant called Junie, and continues to dismiss the entrant’s anxiety. As the story proceeds, a world marked by chronic illness, loss, grief, and immense tragedy is invoked by the viewer. 
The screenplay and performances remain tightly intertwined as one to bring forth an expert end result. The emotional spectrum is achieved with skill, offering the viewer a glimpse into relationships and familial bonds that are messy and overburdened with all kinds of complexities, and yet, they remain the most unexpected as well as powerful source of comfort.

Junie | Spotlight

Shorted

The film is a fantastical engagement with a little boy’s grief and his iron resolve to ensure he finds a way back to his mother. While negotiating his fate with the sea, the mammothian entity that took his mother, our young protagonist is transported to a magical realm. Here, as he strikes a bargain with Lord Ganesha, the narrative comes into its own, using mythology and fantasy to talk of love, tragic loss, and the treacherous path that lies ahead of the little boy. 
The surreal realm, constructed entirely in Sanskrit and with meticulous care, is replete with metaphors and symbolism that demand the audience’s undivided attention to fully decipher and grasp their meaning. The film further employs a remarkable background score, alongside an originality of visual progression, both tied together seamlessly, to portray all of this and some more for the viewer.

The Eyes of Truth | Short Film Nominee

The film introduces us to a household of men, two sons, and their elderly father. As the story develops, we discover that perhaps a woman who had tied them all together left too soon, and now the fault lines have appeared within these relationships. 

There are disagreements, the frustration and worry of two sons, Jay and Aman, whose father refuses to cooperate with his medication or any of the care that his sons try to provide for him. There are backhanded comments about a household, that of Jay, that did not last. All of this develops with the constant presence of Tom and Jerry in the background due to the youngest of them all, little Kunal. 

A brief glimpse into Kunal’s relationship with his grandfather presents an unexpected moment of quiet and peace in all of these fraught equations. The resultant narrative becomes one defined by expert storytelling and narratorial construction. There is further an earnest exploration of loss, grief, and how they become nestled within the complexities and nuances of a familial unit.

Nirvaan  | Short Film of the Month

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.

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