This short film is not meant for a quiet, cold night when you are alone with your thoughts and their many complexities. It will offer you several voices, but only one face. As Kalki Koechlin skilfully shoulders the narrative with an unsurprisingly brilliant performance, she moves from one life situation to another with only voices of invisible characters to accompany her. Do they exist in real life or are they only a figment of her imagination? This is one of the many questions the film will not answer for you. A loose understanding of the narrative suggests a murder (probably of her dreams?) and the protagonist's perpetual struggle with the Lady Macbeth effect as she keeps washing her hands vigorously. The compulsion to earn money for an ailing family member, the constant instructions of a boss and the desperate need to hold down a job have pinned her to her desk. But is there any escape at hand?

The Job | Short Film of the Day

Bunny opens with a couple in the middle of nowhere, preparing to gulp down a bottle of sleeping pills. What follows thereafter is an unpredictable sequence of the most unfortunate events. The short film is funny, thrilling, well-written, and most importantly, wonderfully executed. It's beauty lies in its tightness and ability to hold a powerful narrative in the most effortless manner. Convincing performances with an even better chemistry between its two protagonists make it an enriching viewing experience.

Bunny | Short Film of the Day

The short film exhibits some very beautiful and creatively executed visual transitions to tell the story of its protagonist, Savio, an assassin. As he prepares to head out for another day of work, planning his next murder, something unexpected awaits him. The visuals are constituted with several symbols and imagery linked to life, death and a search for the meaning of existence. They are plotted against a philosophical exploration of Dalai Lama's The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The book also comes to serve as the inspiration for much of the treatment of the story that plays out before the viewer. However, in a bid to experiment with its unpredictable and unique cinematography, the plot ends up becoming dense and vague. The film would have had more to gain if the narrative was a little less impenetrable.

Savvy? | Short Film of the Day

The film exhibits a dedicated attempt to weave a narrative of mystery and thrill, complete with dim lighting, predominance of a scarlet palette, internal demons of characters, past traumas and unexplained disappearances. Staying true to the genre of a psychological thriller, it adds layers and textures to the story by concealing as much as it reveals. The plot continues to thicken as a police officer and his partner attempt to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of two men after being sighted last at the restaurant of the third pivotal character of the narrative. After that, the film takes you on an intriguing journey that includes mental health struggles of the leading officer, and the manner in which they come to affect the investigation is notable. All of it plays out against the background of a restaurant flourishing in its business of pork chops (and more). However, when the climax and conclusion finally arrive, will the viewer have the stomach for it?

Policeman Special | Short Film of the Day

The film opens on a promising note, gradually allowing itself to build its narrative, one fraught with tension and uncertainty. With strong visuals to back it, the story develops to involve the viewer further, leading them by the hand to a place of no return. The thriller brings in elements of sci-fi, insanity, violence and brutal murders. The plot comes across as a smaller part of a bigger whole which also leaves a few aspects of the narrative open ended and unexplained, prodding the viewer to fill the gaps with their own imagination. Overall, the product, marked by a convincing protagonist, is skilfully conceived and executed, allowing it to be an engrossing, entertaining experience for the viewer.

Other Side | Short Film of the Day

The title of the film, Shunyata which translates to 'the void', sets a horizon of expectation for the viewer about the further development of events that would come to define this narrative. It is marked by two of its most noteworthy elements - the story in itself and the stellar performance by Jackie Shroff who brings to the screen a perfect balance of ruggedness and vulnerability. Within its folds, as the film reveals gradually, also lie significant social comments - from callousness and violence on the part of the police, to poverty that drives unsuspecting children into the underbelly of petty crime. It further invokes emotions of guilt, regret and the inability to break out of a murky, bleak existence one may have led oneself to. All of it ensures that the plot develops in a coherent, organic manner. The motivations of the characters are well-explored and convincing, and complete with skilled performances and striking chemistry. While the entirety of the film is marked by its dim-lighting, perhaps to suggest the shadowy world its characters exist in, as well as the unclear territories they grapple with emotionally and internally, the visuals could have still gained from a little more control. Overall, the film, however, remains a sharp and thought-provoking glimpse into a world that exists on the streets marked by visceral violence, crime, drug peddling and mercenaries.

Shunyata | Short Film of the Day

The film does a skilled job of capturing the futility of an existence which is entrapped within a cycle of violence. While the protagonist might make all attempts to steer himself clear of it, will he truly succeed? The narrative also adeptly handles the fear and apprehensions of being alone on a dark street at a late hour. Along with offering a portrayal of a world which might seem arbitrary in who it chooses as victims of violence, the film further becomes a powerful comment on how a seemingly innocent taxi driver finds himself at the eye of the storm. There is an attempt to also explore the darkness of the human mind, and perhaps even invoke existential dread, raising the question - would he still be innocent and non-violent if he finds himself up against the wall?

Paarth Saarathi | Short Film of the Day

The story of the film takes you away from the urban comforts of a familiar environment. As roads get narrower and fields get richer and greener, two parallel realities are invoked - one of two city boys headed to a farmhouse, juxtaposed against that of three men from a nearby area headed to a local wedding. The film takes its time to develop, all along keeping the viewer unaware of the dark reality that awaits them. Not only does it serve to draw attention to the prevalence of a heinous crime in India in the name of preserving the country's traditional fabric, it also succeeds in normalising minority identity. Exhibiting notable camerawork and plot structuring, the film would have gained more from more sincerity to characters on the part of the actors.

Name | Short Film Nominee

‘Karmavinai 2’ opens right in the middle of action, a violent act has already been committed, a man is located in the center of it, and myriad pieces continue to fall one after another. Suffice to say, the viewer’s attention is held by the film right till the very end as loyalties are brought under question in quick succession. 
Kumar has killed his companion and top boss of fifteen years Manikkam, and now Arul is helping him get rid of the body. However, as the plot develops, there are more unexpected, sinister intentions and actions awaiting around the corner. Each of these elements are portrayed and presented to the viewer with competence and seamlessness, allowing both the film and its many components in terms of writing, visuals and performances, to succeed in communicating all that the narrative has set out to say.

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