The short film is like a delicacy that simmers on a low flame. Play with its intensity too much and you run the risk of overcooking it. On the other hand, find the patience (and the expertise) to let the narrative come to a boil in its own time and the flavours and aromas are infused in the most beautiful manner. This is where the creator succeeds most effortlessly. Along a pretty, hilly road, a man finds himself stuck with a broken down car close to sunset. When a kindly old woman decides to give him shelter for the night, his troubles seem to be nearing their end. However, the narrative, despite appearing to be completely harmless, invokes an eeriness that is bound to disconcert the viewer, and indeed there's a reason for this discomfort at the end of it all.

The Guest | Short Film of the Day

What happens when you have lost everything and there's no going further? That perhaps is the moment of complete freedom. Maybe an imagined duty or a forced responsibility holds you back from doing everything you want to do and being everything that you can be. However, who would you be if all your expectations were removed? This Arjun Mathur starrer attempts to answer the same. Follow the romance of a character, played most skilfully by Mathur, with his long-nurtured desires in Khudi. The music video also scores full points for the smooth intermingling of graceful cinematography with soulful music composed by The Local Train.

Khudi | Short Film of the Day

This beautifully shot music video, a romance with winters, mountains and snow, will win you over every time you watch it. The melodious voice of The Local Train's lead vocalist Raman Negi makes the song soulful as well as catchy. With scenic shots of mountains and the overwhelming nature, Dil Mere is the perfect winter song to be enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee on a cold, quiet night. 

Dil Mere | Short Film of the Day

Invitation follows Tashi, a ten-year-old living with his grandmother as a tenant of a rich family
in a village near Darjeeling. The family suspects that the grandmother and Tashi are stealing
from their farm which they are supposed to take care of. The story follows these two families in
the lead up to a wedding at the landowners’ home. 

The preparations are made vigorously; the idiosyncratic father is annoyed that he would not be able to
have the wedding span multiple days, the mother is busy negotiating between her husband and
the son, while the latter simply can't be done with it. A lot of time is devoted to the invitations they write to their
acquaintances, meticulously remembering people from other villages. 

Tashi is more fond of mountains and farms than his home. He often runs away for the whole day, while
the grandmother, on the other hand, likes to beat on a steel plate, as if to drown out the abject silence in her life.
The family itself has its oddities (gunshots are fired everyday). <h2>Early on, we see a sequence
where Tashi goes to the landowners’ house to watch TV, only to be teased and annoyed by the
father. This sets the tone of the relationship between the two families - strictly contractual, with a
clear class divide. </h2>

However, at the same time, the mother is more sympathetic towards Tashi, shown in little acts like looking for him
when he is not back till sunset. 

The film is slow to come to a boil, and takes its time with the characters. First half is shot in a way that can
be described as sitting back, and looking from a vantage point as sequence after sequence plays out,
along with enough breathing space to contemplate and make inferences. 

The plot, however, is too thin for a runtime of eighty-five minutes. Not a lot is explored in the relationship
between Tashi and his grandmother, or in their landlords’ family. The conflict itself arrives
slowly. Often, the events shown diligently never lead to much payoff. The filmmaker’s
design seems to be one of minimal plot. The film is more interested in the people and their
behaviours. However, that too falls apart because of the setting of the film. 

Set in a wedding, it
often only goes into the farcical, and remains on the surface. Some brilliant sequences like a
conversation between the bride and the groom aside, the film remains a little too subtle to allow
exploration, and a little too plotless for any real conflict to set in. 

Films like this are supposed to be slow and contemplative, but an effective one contains loaded
images and events, even if disjointed. <h2>There are motifs that show great promise, and there are
moments of cinematic brilliance. The director Saurav Rai never really falters, except with his
pacing. That might just be enough to make Invitation a lesser film than it could have been. </h2>
The film wanders too far for too long, and ultimately when the resolution comes (which could
have been interesting, if the premise is anything to go by) it has lost its power.
 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

Nimtoh (Invitation) | Review

There is an innovative genre of films coming up at the festival circuit that seems to have taken a
different and quite interesting turn in India. These films are set in
unexplored spaces, use non-actors, delve deeply into a community’s day-to-day life and
struggles, and bind it all together as a mix of documentary
and fiction. 
Done right, this innovation can become a splendid amalgamation of the best of both worlds - the
richness of themes and motifs of a documentary, and the depth of a strong narrative
structure of fiction. Bitter Chestnut, however, unfortunately is not a good example of this genre.
Gurvinder Singh (of Chauthi Koot-fame) has taken a turn away from his usual style to make this film.
It starts off feeling deeply personal, and contemplative. A young boy Kishan who is seventeen is
adamant not to join his family profession and instead wants to continue working at a restaurant.
He lives in a village in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and the restaurant is in Bir, hours away.

<h2>The film contrasts modern with the traditional. A world where humans are one with nature and live in harmony with
it. The urban space, on the other hand, is shown to be possessing both virtues and vices. A subplot involving the restaurant owner who
willingly found refuge from the life of metropolitans in Bir presents a counter argument to
Kishan’s wish of leaving his village.</h2>

The core conflict is too thin and a little too overdone to work. Still, it is a premise that could
have turned out differently. The parts where the film digresses from the main plot are the best. The portrayal
of Kangra's culture, its poignantly portrayed people and customs stand out and stay with you.
The filmmaking is organic, and the vulnerabilities, idiosyncrasies and profoundly human
tendencies of the characters that bind them together become part of a universal and relatable experience, making
those parts worth watching.
 
Unfortunately, they are a bit too strong for the plot itself. The protagonist is shown to face no
conflict throughout the film. All his struggles are very internalised, and the filmmaking is detached
enough to never allow the audience to step into his shoes. <h2>Every time we see Kishan feeling
claustrophobic and stuck in his village, we see tone deaf images of lush heavenly mountains
where he lives. The story would like to introduce a conflict, but the camera does not believe
there is one.</h2>
The result is a protagonist who remains unnoticeable and unrelatable. Instead the subplot with
Monisha, the restaurant owner, serves more of a purpose and soul than the portrayal of the protagonist. She religiously
listens to the stories and discussions of the tourists who come to her restaurant. They range
from western spiritualists seeking enlightenment, hippie musicians to art aficionados looking simply to have a good time; she listens to them and learns from them. She has built a quaint little life for herself
in the mountains, and in her last days, only desires its peace. 
The same kind of insight is never given to Kishan. After a point, the debate between modern
and traditional ceases to offer anything interesting and becomes a burden to carry.
The title of the film is explained in a conversation that comes out of nowhere, with little
build up.
Bitter Chestnut is a competent study of a community, and human condition, but it falters as a
film.

 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

Bitter Chestnut | Review

The music video is a stunning dedication to travel and the humbling beauty of nature that often accompanies it. The visuals flow smoothly as you are taken along on a bike trip with the protagonist. From snow-capped peaks to looming mountains to glaciers, streams and rivers which navigate them all, images of nature are invoked in all their glory. As the audio of a soulful song are coupled with them, the narrative leaves you with a resounding reminder about taking pause to truly notice the magnificence around you. The vast landscapes, endless in their size, varied in their terrain, are especially more beautiful in a world that is only beginning to come out of a pandemic. After having been confined indoors for a year, the music and visuals of Khoye Pal would indeed leave you with a balmy, heartwarming message about humankind's location in a massive world that is waiting to open all its doors to you, as long as you have the inclination to stay and listen for a while.

Khoye Pal | Short Film of the Day

The film attempts to be a soulful narrative about the experiences in love of two people. The visuals are set in a beautiful valley of Himachal Pradesh. Though a cool palette of perfect greens and blues might be ready, shooting outdoors in natural light can often be a tough nut to crack, which is perhaps where the cinematography could have been better. The story exhibits brief moments of uniqueness, struggling to surface, but the transitions, performances and colour correction do not aid them sufficiently. The product is an ambitious endeavour and deserves brownie points simply for that.

Reveries | Short Film Nominee

The title of the film, which translates to the 'old red river', sets the premise of the content it will come to portray and engage with. With poetry interspersed with its visuals, the film becomes a weaving together of different elements of nature - rivers, mountains and trees. These are further supplemented by a notable use of drone shots that enable the filmmaker to tie their narrative together. However, there seems to be a want of a common thread that could have perhaps led to a closure which keeps the film from being all that it could have been.

Burha Luit | Short Film Nominee

The very brief narrative is an endeavor in conjuring a philosophical engagement with the ideas of existence, as well as the human pursuit of forever moving forward. Engulfed in a mist, no matter how uncertain your path might seem, the only way is ahead. For this inexorable movement, simply the knowledge of where you will put your foot next is enough, underlines the narrative. 

All of this is explored by using travel, and a drive through misty hills as a metaphor. The final result, an interaction with a single moment in time, then is simply a talking into the camera while driving through hazy, foggy valleys.

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