Gulab Kothari of Madhya Pradesh wants to teach his young, reluctant son the art of playing taashe, a widely celebrated musical instrument in the vicinity. Desperate to pass on his family lineage, he forces Shiv to sit with him and learn the instrument. However, nothing helps the old father until Shiv witnesses a young girl dancing gracefully to the beat of taashe. 
Immediately, Shiv is in complete awe of the sweet girl, Jugni and decides to impress her by learning the instrument. He starts to look after his appearance, tires his father out by long, multiple lessons and even starts to save money to buy Jugni a pair of ghungru. Little does our young protagonist realize that amidst his innocent fantasies and dreams, rests a grotesque ugliness of the adult world. Right when his plans are about to achieve their goal, a staggering conclusion awaits the narrative, one that changes things in a lasting manner for the little boy, and leaves the audience with a pressing social message.

Taashe | Short Film Nominee

Through snippets of various day-to-day scenarios, the ad film builds a narrative about expert quality and reputation. It suggests that in the same manner as a citizen holding on to the promise of a respectable judge, a patient on their trusted doctor and customers on age-old clothing labels, viewers can trust this brand for the best outcome. The final result thus becomes a simple tying together of all of these examples to lucidly put forth its message for the viewer.

Promises | Short Film Nominee

It is often said that people make their strongest bonds with the ones they attended school with, and such is the case for the two key characters of the short film as well. Lovers since high school, Jai and Mandira have shared a lifetime of memories. However, now they stand at a crossroads which might either lead them to each other or down a path where personal dreams and ambitions achieve fruition at the cost of their relationship. 
Reminiscing their old school days on a bench, the couple tries to come to terms with the inevitable future. In contrast, on another nearby bench, two young confidants full of innocence and zest, make binding promises of living a mighty grand life together. In the process, the film offers a sweet, warmth-inducing account of modern love and the value of friendships that last a lifetime.

Last Promise | Short Film Nominee

Quirky and full of life, Khushboo is one of the leading employees of an architecture firm and has been recently assigned the task of preparing and presenting a pitch to a renowned client. However, she has a medical condition which takes away her control on a basic bodily function - flatulence. 
Owing to the social stigma and general comedic tone suggested associated the same, Khushboo is embarrassed and mocked at her presentation. Sad and belittled, she returns home to her dad who comforts and motivates her to be strong in the face of such insignificant adversities. Khushboo decides to explain her point of view, and finds a way to express the same to a large number of audience. In the process, the narrative becomes a celebration of not only the protagonist's courage and honesty, but also a reminder of society to be more accepting of one another. As for Khushboo, something uplifting and heartwarming awaits her at the end of it all.

Humari Khushboo | Short Film Nominee

Sarmaya is a film about a deep, unique bond between Dev and Kriti, an unusual couple who unite over their love for poetry, gazals, and old Hindi songs. Kriti occasionally visits Dev as he muses on his balcony and they both go for long walks in peaceful, serene locations. 
In their journey together, they talk about various artists, sing their songs, and ruminate over the thought and talent behind their making. They prefer meeting alone on quiet nights, under the soft, shimmering moonlight and treasure their rendezvous as a release, away from the tiring world. The film is an open letter to love and its meeting with untethered souls. There is further the attempt to employ poetry in sharing this conversation with the viewer.

Sarmaya | Short Film Nominee

The short ad film brings to notice an attribute of its product, the mileage, through a series of routine conversations turned comical with the play on the tagline ‘kam peeta hai’. We see a middle-aged couple discussing it when the phrase prompts a taunt from the wife on the husband’s drinking habits. 
Similarly, a doctor uses the play on the words to point out his alcoholic patient, a groom to convince the future father-in-law of the marriage, two heavily-costumed performers to assure the patrol policeman of their soberness and so on. The film aspires to portray the image of sensibility and smartness through the purchase of the product.

Kam Peeta Hai | Short Film Nominee

A middle-aged man’s peaceful morning routine is disturbed by two uninvited, talkative guests. The latter make themselves comfortable on the beautifully furnished sofa and start rambling about a marriage proposal. However, judging by the confused look on the former’s face, the guest clarifies if his name is ‘BN Rao’.
 The man explains that they have entered the wrong house and the correct one is indeed the one opposite. The guests apologize and reveal that they were attracted by the well-polished door and hence, suggest the marriage to the man’s daughter instead, allowing the film to share with the viewer its primary idea in a light-hearted, humorous manner.

Asian Paints

Ram, a young IT professional, struggles with basic, day-to-day confrontations – with the landlady, his colleagues, romantic interests and so on. This inability to express opinions assertively and confidently often puts him in a disadvantageous position. To rectify the situation, he decides to sit down for a friendly chat with his estranged yet much feared emotion– anger. 
Anger, personified as a rowdy, impulsive version of Ram, berates the protagonist for lagging behind in life, for not taking charge and aggressively pursuing his goals. However, as Ram shares his own opinion about practical thinking and understanding, their once broken connection is fixed to form a stable, peaceful balance.

Ramam... Krodham... | Short Film Nominee

A group of children from the neighborhood get together every evening to play a variety of games – carrom, hide and seek and so on. When a new family moves into the nearby villa, they are overjoyed at the prospect of having another playmate - a young girl named Nayana, and decide to invite her for a game. 
Nayana’s mother greets the crowd politely and explains that it is better for Nayana’s safety, who is visually impaired, to stay at home instead. However, despite the sombre tone that the film may have acquired momentarily, it is headed in a very different, uplifting direction. Consequently, it leaves the viewer with a sweet and relevant message by the end of it all, doing its bit to spread social awareness about an important issue.

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