Akash Joshi’s ‘Take Care’ is a glimpse into a crucial aspect of our lives, that of mental health. It is a short film that is brilliantly constructed and put forth, condensing everything it needs to say in its brief three minute runtime. While the duration of the film may come off as surprising, there is not much that needs to be said for the need to make sure that you are aware about your own mental health and that of the ones you care about. It is not an optional luxury, especially considering the pandemic.

‘Take Care’ invites us into the life of Alok, a man desperately in need of medical care for his daughter, who happens to have Covid-19. While we see Alok conversing with a doctor overseas, who prescribes medication for his daughter, there is a lot that the short film conceals from its audience in its initial stages. What it does drive home, however, is the fact that, for a lot of the people who were affected by Covid-19, immediate medical care was incredibly hard to come by. We, as a global community, were completely ill-prepared for a pandemic of this magnitude.

It is important that I do not give away the plot here. Suffice it to say, Akash Joshi manages to drive home some brutal facts in the span of mere minutes. With a film like ‘Take Care’, Joshi reveals his understanding of the situation we found ourselves in. More importantly, he understood what the pandemic did to the families and friends of Covid-19 patients. The mental anguish and emotional turmoil that those close to the affected individuals faced is not something that they should have had to go through.

Watch ‘Take Care’. It is an important short film regarding the issue of mental health in these desperate times we find ourselves in.

I am going to cut right to it. ‘Koode Njanum’, is a short film with incredible production value. At the very outset, and for the remainder of the film, we are treated to a gorgeous medley of shots that truly capture the beauty of its rustic riverside-village setting. Anish Mathan, the Director of Photography, along with his crew, has done a wonderful job at capturing Director Antony Charls’s vision of the film. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Before we talk about anything else, it’s important to talk about what kind of a film we are really watching here. ‘Koode Njanum’, in spite of the curveballs it throws at you, is a film about friendship before anything else.  

Antony Charls, with ‘Koode Njanum’, places his film on two wildly different presets. There are a few hints, at the very beginning, about what is to come, foreshadowed with the dark, moody lanes that we find one of the central characters walking in. And, while you are never able to shake off the feeling that something unexpected is about to happen, Antony Charls, with the help of the brightly coloured village setting and a story about an endearing friendship between two boys, manages to keep you engaged with the beats of the current narrative playing on the screen. That is, possibly, the highest feat that ‘Koode Njanum’ achieves as a film. This ability to introduce an ominous atmosphere at the very beginning and then shift to a more playful and vibrant narrative, while keeping a constant sense of foreboding ever present in the audience’s mind. Charls and Anish Mathan have truly managed to blend and understand each other’s visions perfectly in this instance.

‘Koode Njanum’, as a film, has a simple premise. We are introduced to the character of Roy Kuttan, a celebrated director and writer, on the way to meet a friend of his. With his car broken down, Kuttan is forced to walk the rest of the way. Through pure coincidence, he meets a woman who happens to admire his work. Offering to drop him at the location where Kuttan is to meet his friend, the woman and Kuttan get talking about some of the movies and the work he has done so far. In particular, the woman finds Kuttan’s story about his childhood friend to be really touching. As they make their way to their destination, we, as the audience, are led to discover the camaraderie that Kuttan and his friend shared. 

There is not much to say here. Well, to say more, would be to give things away. ‘Koode Njanum’ is one of those films that comes off as being simple, initially, and then rails you into something that is not quite expected of it. That is not to say that it is jarring. On the contrary, it navigates its oscillation between two completely different genres incredibly well.

Violence, by its very nature, is cyclic. It is, most often, all consuming, drawing the worst out of us while, at the same time, provoking us to go even further. It doesn’t matter whether the act of violence has been given legal sanction or whether it is accidental or deliberate. Unless one party breaks free, the cycle continues. ‘Tehreer’, directed by Mudasir Dar, is a short film that explores this very notion of never ending violence.

Penned by Mudasir Dar and Ameet Prajapati, ‘Tehreer’ explores violence born out of guilt and anger. We follow a retired judge, Manik Ahuja, played by the incredible Vikram Gokhale, living out his retirement in relative isolation. Right off the bat, it is evident that the character of Ahuja is grappling with guilt over a specific event from his past. While the details of Ahuja’s past are slowly revealed as the film progresses, it would be, perhaps, bordering on spoiling the plot to list them here. Suffice to say, Dar, as the director, has managed to create a film that sits halfway between a drama and suspense thriller, a balancing act that is pulled off immensely well by Vikram Gokhale as the lead.

‘Tehreer’ is a film of few words, quite literally so. With the exception of a narrative driven monologue by a central character, it is a film that bases itself heavily on the idea of character exploration through atmospheric and visual cues. And, it is hard to think that any other actor could have shouldered the dramatic responsibility of the film other than Vikram Gokhale.

Gokhale, as an artist, has had a tremendous amount of experience with dramatic roles. Perhaps, it has something to do with the manner in which he is able to convey a range of emotions with the slightest of facial twitches. As Manik Ahuja, Gokhale captures the essence of a man who, to the world outside, has had a celebrated tenure as a judge but, admittedly, to himself, feels like a failure. Here, we see Gokhale as not a man who can proudly proclaim his untainted track record as a judge but, rather, as a man who is coming to terms with how fallible he actually is.

‘Tehreer’, possibly, may not be the film you are looking for but it is one that you should watch. In it’s short run time, Mudasir Dar manages to thematically explore the concepts of ‘guilt’, ‘anger’ and, perhaps most importantly, ‘violence’. What’s even more admirable is the manner in which all three are tied to each other. After all, there is always a contributory factor to violence. Watch it here.

Short films have a very delicate line to walk. In the brief duration that they have, short films are meant to engage, excite and, then, adequately render, to the audience, a satisfactory resolution. Much of it depends on pacing and, of course, condensed writing. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’, written and directed by Rahul Bhatnagar, is one such short film that pulls this off flawlessly. It is filled with endearing and comical moments that bring levity to the awkward situation that the protagonists find themselves in. Moreover, and possibly, more importantly, the film plays incredibly well to the Indian sensibility by taking the concept of an arranged marriage and fusing it with an incredulous dilemma.

Set on the eve of a wedding, ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ follows the eponymous Pinki, played by Mugdha Agarwal, and the supposed groom-to-be, Bittu, played by Vikram Bhui. Everything seems all fine and dandy except for the fact that Pinki might just be in love with someone else. And that’s pretty much all I will give you. Spoiling the film any further will rob you of the punches that the film throws at you. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ is one of those films that doesn’t really attempt to challenge the genre it falls in. Rather, it focuses on delivering the best of what the genre promises you. It is, after all, a feel-good movie.

What we can touch on, however, are the beautiful performances by both leads. Mugdha Agarwal’s portrayal of Pinki will have you scratching your heads in one moment and, then, wishing you could just wrap a blanket around her in the next. Agarwal manages to be incredibly mercurial with her character, capturing the quiet strength of the Pinki while also harnessing her chaotic energy. Surely, we all know someone like Pinki, someone who seems helpless but belies their inner strength. 

Vikram Bhui, as Bittu, is the epitome of the perennial ‘bro’. Do you know those moments where one of your friends manages to land themselves in a situation that is absurd and hilarious at the same time? That’s Bhui’s Bittu for you. Bhui, as Bittu, flits from one scene to another, clutching and cursing at his situation but bearing it all the same. Bhui will have you sympathising with Bittu, of course, but will have you laughing at the character as well. Personally, there is a friend of mine who said something very specific every time we found ourselves in a bit of a situation. It went along the lines of ‘Let Jesus take the wheel’. That, I believe, perfectly captures Bittu. He is there and he has to deal with it.

Rahul Bhatnagar has done an incredible job at laying out a script that paces itself so incredibly well. Most short films have this internal struggle where they grapple with the idea of establishing some narrative background and, in the process, lose out on setting a tightened narrative pace. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ does not suffer from that. In fact, I would even go out to say that the short film doesn’t contain one single dull moment. On the contrary, it manages to pack in a surprising lot of things in its short 25-minute runtime.

Watch ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’. You will only be doing yourself a favour.

There are very few films, as of today, that manage to interweave multiple themes into their narrative. No, scratch that. There are very few films that manage to interweave multiple themes into their narrative in a manner that seems seamless and not forced. ‘Body Image’ is one of those few. What started off as a short film that scrutinizes the issue of body shaming evolves into something that touches on the issues of single parenthood, of the relationship between a father and a daughter and, perhaps most importantly, the idea of being a support system for your child, especially in the times we live in.

Directed and written by Shivankar and Shipra Arora, ‘Body Image’ is the story of Arushi, played by Arsheen Namdaar, a teenage girl who learns an important lesson just as she is about to take her first step into being an individual in the world outside. Perhaps, the most endearing aspect of the short film is the relationship between Arushi and her father, played by Puneet Panjwani. But before we get into that, it’s important that we set a foundation for the narrative that the short film follows, without spoiling things, of course.

The film follows Arushi just days before an ‘Acting Competition’, something that she is incredibly excited for. Her father encourages her to apply for the competition soon, however, Arushi is still determined to apply at the same time that her friend, Vanshu, does. It turns out, however, that Vanshu had already applied for the competition. To add insult to injury, Vanshu goes on to remark that Arushi wouldn’t be a good fit for the competition on account of her weight. Dejected and insecure, Arushi decides to not apply at all. What follows is an endearing conversation between father and daughter and the importance of focusing on things that are not just skin deep or superficial.

‘Body Image’ is a film that is more about just its title. It manages to capture a number of thematic ideas that all push forward to an individual’s growth. Shipra Arora, as a writer, has done an incredibly beautiful job at tying the ideas of self-love, parental guidance and individual growth all together. Shivankar Arora, as the director, skillfully navigates the challenges of bringing these ideas from the script to the screen, instilling, in each scene, a sense of genuine humanity. The Arora siblings have been creating wonderful short films for some time now and this is another incredible addition to their portfolio.

Credit must also be given where it’s due. Arsheen Namdaar and Puneet Panjwani have done a marvelous job at creating a believable father-daughter relationship on screen. While there are theatrics involved in the conversations they have, something that runs the risk of coming off as exaggerated dramatization, in this case, it creates a sense of endearment between the two. That primarily comes as a result of Namdaar and Panjwani being their genuine selves on screen. You cannot help but root for this father-daughter duo. After all, this story is as much about a father trying to raise a daughter as it is about a daughter trying to grow up.

Watch ‘Body Image’. It will be fifteen minutes well spent.