Short Films: Bollywood Actors Going the Short Film Way

Actor and producer Jackky Bhagnani has shared the first posters of his upcoming short film 'Carbon', co-starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui. While one poster sees Jackky carrying in his hand a gas mask in a toxic environment (presumed to be Earth), the other poster sees Nawaz looking at the planet from space.

Set in 2067, the film story reportedly sheds light on the issue of 'global warming' and its effects. According to reports, Nawazuddin will be seen playing the role of an inhabitant of Mars.

The film also stars Prachi Desai and Yashpal Sharma.

Short films have always been there, it’s just that nowadays they are coming into the limelight with a lot of Bollywood actors going the short film way. They are an easy way for budding filmmakers to showcase their talent and creativity. It gives them a lot more freedom to experiment without having to bother about the box-office consequences. Top directors from Hollywood happened to start their career with short films. Now with the emergence of YouTube and the popularity of short films amongst the masses, it would not be an exaggeration to state that it has almost become a movement. Here are some short films with some Bollywood stars in the cast...

Ratna Pathak Shah stars in and as Mai a short film written and directed by Surya Menon and produced by Pocket Films. It is about a young man who comes to terms with his fear of separation from his mother who is on her deathbed.

Alia Bhatt stars in a short film directed by Vikas Bahl. The film titled Going Home is a about a girl driving back home all alone late in the night on the streets of Delhi. The film is the visualisation of a utopian situation where unlike today mistrust and fear do not rule actions and the end result. It is a film that sees Alia in another of her amazing roles that she pulls off to the T.

Mita Vashist plays Rose in this short film Rose Bed written and directed by Aarambh M Singh. The film tells the story of an opera singer in her late thirties and a Victorian bed gifted to her by her grandmother for her wedding that never happens. The film is all about Rose’s struggle with the bed. The huge empty bed is more of a visual metaphor that reflects her own incomplete self. The bed mocks her choices and at the same time it is also the only hope she has about her marriage.

Anup Soni plays Sharad Jain, a photographer and reporter in the short film called Pierre De Lune aka A Moonstone. In a humanitarian camp two people of opposite demeanours find themselves attracted to each other. Sharad and Natalie who is a French doctor fall in love of a different kind which is not only about them but of everything they are and represent.

Manoj Bajpayee and Raveena Tandon who have earlier worked together in critically acclaimed films Shool (1999) and Aks (2001) have come back together to play a couple in the short film titled Thank You directed by Vinay Jaiswal. This film brings out the significance of the Independence day and has been shot in South Mumbai and a restaurant in Kurla over just two nights and has created waves online.

Legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee and the Hunterrr actress Radhika Apte worked together in the short film titled Ahalya directed by the acclaimed director Sujoy Ghosh. The short film retells the story of Ahalya from Ramayana. Brahma created Ahalya to be the most beautiful creature in this world and she is bethrothed to Maharishi Gautama, but Debraj Indra appears in front of her in the garb of Maharishi Gautama and seduces Ahalya who falls prey to him. When Maharishi Gautama catches them in the act, he curses Ahalya and turns her into stone. The film already garnered more than three lakh fifty thousand hits and has managed to create a buzz like no other.