On a seemingly regular afternoon, a man exploits a hapless chaat-seller along a roadside, as two school-girls discuss a recent accident that had taken place near-by. While the former exchange can still fall within the boundaries of a mundane encounter, defined by stinginess and helplessness, the mention of the accident hints at something darker unfolding simultaneously. 

The film’s world-building thereafter remains gradual, marked by an eeriness that is aided greatly by a careful choice of the background score, as well as a crucial, strong performance by Akhilendra Mishra. 

With the progression of the story, the protagonist continues to stumble across crisp notes of twenty rupees as he continues on his path. Unable to look away, he finds them in a murky pool of water or in obscure spots high up in the air. Despite frantic calls from his impatient daughter, he still refuses to focus on the path, until he reaches a point from where there is no turning back. The journey thus mapped out by the narrative is engaging, involving, and at last, deeply shocking.

Bārāt | Short Film of the Month

Spread over dual chapters, with perhaps also the promise of subsequent parts, 'A Tale of an Onion Witch' presents a sinister story of constant requests for onions. You read that right, but how can something as inane as onions be the primary concern of a horror story, you ask? Well, that's indeed what the film answers for you. The question you should be asking instead is that when a young woman or a little girl comes knocking at your door in the darkness of the night, asking for some onions, would you answer? 

 Throughout the duration of the film, there is an instinctive desire to keep checking over one's shoulder for any unusual movements, to always be wary of sounds outside the door, and that is precisely what concretises the success of this horror story; more so in the first part than the second. This is not to say that the latter is any less worthy of the points it scores, but that the former does a more notable job of establishing its premise. 

The first part uses jump scares, but judiciously. The camera employs tight close-ups, hiding more than it reveals which further adds an elemental tension to the film. There is an old woman, with explicitly pronounced dark circles, and a contemporary witch with long hair and dirt-coloured nails. However, it is not difficult to overlook the absence of subtleties simply because of the manner in which the narrative hooks you to it, especially owing to its smooth edit. Terrified you may be, but can you dare to look away? 

As you struggle to answer this question, time moves forth and we are presented with the subsequent chapter. A newly married, unsuspecting couple runs into a woman who shares the same name as the key player of the horrible events that had unfolded in the previous part - Mangla. However, unlike her namesake, she is minus the ravages of old age or the aforementioned dark circles. 

The narrative, once again, ropes in unexpected characters and elements to conjure an atmosphere of chills and eeriness, this time marked by a tighter, smoother control on its visuals, and more pronounced humor. The cast now also includes a little girl forming an unmissable and disturbing presence at the heart of all the action that was previously orchestrated entirely by adults. There is violence, blood and once again the question that holds immense power over the fate of the hapless characters - would they open the door when an innocent voice asks for some good, old onions?

A Tale of an Onion Witch | Short Film Nominee

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

The short film by Vikram Bhatt is the story of four strangers who are forced to take shelter in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere due to a snow blizzard. It opens with a gory scene of an attack on a boy called Karthik. Before any sense can be made of what's going on, the narrative goes six hours back in time. It continues to oscillate between the past and the present, keeping the viewer on tenterhooks all along. Use of toys in shadows, perhaps reminiscent of the iconic slasher series Saw, is one of the many tools that help add to the eeriness of the setting. As attacks begin on them one by one, perhaps in a desperate attempt to rationalise it, they're immediately chalked down to being caused by a wild animal. Soon after, the question of the supernatural soon enters the narrative. However, how far are they from the truth, and more importantly, is any escape possible even if they manage to figure it out?

Let's Play | Short Film of the Day

The film captures your attention right from the word go by taking you into a night in the life of a seedy taxi driver. As he drools over images of skimpily-clad women in a magazine, the most unexpected customer sits in his vehicle for a late night trip. The uncanny passenger brings with her an atmosphere of eeriness which ascertains for the viewer that something is deeply amiss. The narrative then moves between the driver's dream and wakefulness, blurring the lines between what is real and what isn't both for the protagonist and the viewer. Just when he is about to commit a malicious act, he is met with the most shocking development. The film does a notable job of weaving its narrative, keeping the viewer hooked throughout. It further employs remarkable camerawork, complemented by a closely-controlled play of light to conjure its world of strange passengers and a taxi driver who has now found himself in the midst of an incident that will perhaps come to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Ei Taxi | Short Film Nominee

The film opens with a tight close up, a phone call and a lighthearted, fleeting engagement with the idea of gluttony, completely obscuring the plot developments that would come to haunt the viewer. Soon a premise is also put in place - a couple has recently moved into a new house where the previous tenants left almost all their belongings behind. There is further the mention of a microwave and the foul smell that has accompanied it. Little do you realise at first glance that it would be this seemingly inane object, an appliance, around which the entire plot would come to pivot. Events follow in quick successions thereafter as strange sounds begin to fill the space on screen, followed by disappearing pieces of meat. In the meantime, the man is also unable to locate his wife who had left earlier to attend a relative's funeral. The narrative of the film is interestingly constructed with moments that range from unease and thrill to extreme disconcertment, allowing it to be an entertaining and involving experience for the viewer.

The Hungry Ones | 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.

Telephone | Short Film Nominee

‘Mortuus’ treads a territory that is not for the faint-hearted. Locating itself in the confines of a morgue which has recently scene theft of dead bodies, it presents to us a young police constable who is left alone with the last remaining dead body out of a total of thirteen. 
Soon nightmares bleed into reality, and light into darkness to conjure a world of shadows, and jump scares.The visual progression efficiently employs space and performance to share the plot. The predominant action remains completely devoid of dialogue, concealing more than it reveals, and in the process, ensures that the viewer is left with a shiver running down their spine during the course of the film. It would be interesting to see the project developed into a longer storytelling endeavor for the viewer’s benefit.

Mortuus | Short Film Nominee

The world of 'Jasmine' is dark, shadowy and constituted by tales of the supernatural. Alina, a single mother in Kalimpong inhabiting her ancestral property with her daughter Jasmine, often hosts men as guests in her homestay. Implicit in this are the sexual liaisons that are shared between the host and her guests. 

Once the premise has been established, the story begins with the arrival of Kush all the way from Delhi. As the plot progresses, young Jasmine is located at the heart of the developing drama, revealing to both Kush and the viewer a world of violent rituals, sacrifices and human skulls, all in the name of a deity that requires appeasement by a terrible annual act. 

The film notably blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, with a dual narrative coming into existence between Jasmine and her mother. Uncertainty engulfs the plot, making it a defining aspect, leaving the viewer with multiple versions of the truth, and in the process, foiling their desires of a neat conclusion in a deliberate, and entertaining manner.

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