The music video wins full points for its camerawork and smooth transitions. Exploring Varanasi could never have been dreamier. From its by-lanes to its ghats, from pucca houses to makeshift pyres, from a child's rolling tyres on the road to the holy sites of worship - Varanasi packs it all. Made by Kalki, DJ and techno/trance music producer, and the french filmmaker Basile Pierrat, the music video boasts of an independent soundtrack, not tied to any label or agency. The visuals are completely in sync with the audio and leaves the viewer with a sense of having been intoxicated, much likes its unseen, mute protagonist.

Kalki - Varanasi | Short Film of the Day

The film is a calm engagement with the protagonist's attempts to locate himself vis-a-vis the ideas of truth and existence. He is an NRI, returned to a small Indian town to sell his ancestral property before he heads back to his life in the US to never turn back. However, the most unexpected realisations about his past, ideas of love and what it means to allow his foundational roots to open doors (both literal and metaphorical) await him before his departure. The story is allowed to unfold and come into its own at a quiet, gradual pace. It further employs symbolism and metaphors to communicate its message. Consequently, when the closure of the narrative finally arrives, the viewer does not realise in the first instance that the film has already led them by hand to a place of no return.

Neer (Water) | Short Film Nominee

Along the banks of the holy Ganga, the historical city of Varanasi acts as the backdrop for the film, Taam. Life of three characters belonging to separate generations, during a trying time of deconstruction of the authentic, cultural city is depicted through the short narrative. 

The oldest in the family, a Brahmin pujari who spent a lifetime practising his religion on the ghats of the river, is now being forced to leave the very alleyways he was born into, the ancestral, mystical walls which hold fond memories of his deceased wife. Amidst the constant movement of the several forces tugging at each other, his son tries to straddle the political and the social aspects of the ensuing developments. 

The protagonist is pained at the loss of the city, but is accepting of the resulting compensation- one which is deemed necessary for the survival of their family. Lastly, the innocent boy, still learning the trade, ends up meeting the cruel realities of the world he exhibits. Allowing all of these elements to play themselves out against the several warring factions of society, the film provides insight into life in Varanasi. The many undercurrents of totalitarianism, caste, religion and abuse are further allowed portrayal within the narrative, enabling it to finally tie them together as a cohesive whole.

Taam | Short Film of the Day

The short narrative takes the viewer on the ghats of Varanasi, and offers a brief spiritual history of the place. There are bytes of several men whose lives center completely around the spiritual reality of the place. In the process the ideas of moksha, or freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth, are also invoked. It is believed that this freedom would be the fate of anyone who is in Varanasi when death comes calling. On the whole, the final result becomes an extolling of the heritage and religious journey of the city, presented to you in a direct manner.

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