Month: May 2020

Silent Ties ★★

A story of brother-sister ties in a little non-conventional setting.

Synopsis

Silent Ties tells the story of a brother-sister relationship. At the same time, this short film tries to touch upon the perception of transgenders in the country. In this short film, the younger brother is a transgender dancer. Her elder sister (seems) to be the only person who has supported him through all these years. Naturally, they share a very closely knit relation. However, the elder sister also has to be answerable to the society at some time. And, that time has now come with the very public recognition of her brother. What will she do?

What works

The short film touches upon two emotional topics. One, the bond of siblings, and another, the society’s stance on transgenders. Since both are very relevant and oft-talked about topic, the audience can understand the content easily. Silent Ties may also resonate with audience on another psychological level of pursuing one’s hobby. Audience may relate to these touch-points very easily.

What could have been better

As said earlier, the audience would be able to connect to the content very easily. However, the connection won’t last for long because of borderline bad screenplay. The scenes jump from one to another without any logical flow.

While I do not want to put any spoilers here in the review, you will be able to see once you watch Silent Ties. In our opinion, the transformation of scenes are forcibly made to fit to the story. The screenplay creates a new bottom with the phone call made to the protagonist by his secretary.

Partly due to the above problems, the actors also fail to inspire. The characters feel too mercurial to feel real.

Particularly, the character of Renuka Shahane is made too unpredictable and unsure of what she really wants.

Lastly, the dialogues are too weak to create any impact.

Verdict

To sum up, Silent Ties is a horrible execution of noble intentions. Avoid and save your eight minutes!

AglaPlay Verdict: Avoid
AglaPlay Rating: 2.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~8 minutes
Writer-Director:  Sai Deodhar
Cast: Renuka Shahane,
Palash Dutta

Click here for our Short-Film Recommendations !

Ambani the Investor ★★★★

Award winning short film about a determined hard working young school-goer…

Synopsis

Ambani the investor is story of an industrious school-going kid. This short film shows one day in the life of this young chap who creates opportunities wherever he goes. Unlike others, he does not wait for the opportunity to get a job or earn money. This is a story of fighting the odds in spite of obstacles. And, it is the story of satisfaction of long day labor he notes down his earning in his notebook.

What Works

First and foremost, AglaPlay salutes the child actor Master Manoj who carries this short film on his shoulders. Without his acting prowess, Ambani the Investor would have been nothing. From the first scene of seeing his drunk father to the end, his smile and his eyes tell the story vastly much more than any actor could have said.

Secondly, we liked the design of the movie. There are hardly any dialogues, and that adds a lot of character to the short film. In fact, we strongly believe that the short film would have been even better without any dialogues! Notably, even Manoj has hardly 2 sentences in the whole short film.

Third, the screenplay has spell-binding effect on the audience. It also reflects in the viewership of this short film, which is nearing 7 million without any big actor or known names.

Last but most importantly, Ambani the Investor wins us over with the sweet story of grit and determination. Salutation to the whole team for sharing this great work.

What could have been better

The YouTube video’s title ‘MUST WATCH NEVER GUESSING CLIMAX’ has no need to be there. There is nothing in the climax that is interesting or anything. As we mentioned above, it is the flow of protagonist’s day where we are interested rather than the end.

Also, on logically thinking through the movie, you will find gaps and plot-holes. Additionally, you may also wonder when does this guy sleeps. Or, if his school hours are merely 2 or 3 hours long!

Lastly, there is a conversation where the protagonist is compared with Ambani. That scene is, perhaps, the dullest scene in the whole short film!

Having said that, by and large, this is a good movie. Please do not worry about above few short comings.

Verdict

The short film is a must watch. We recommend it for audience of all age, particularly for younger audience!

AglaPlay Verdict: A must watch for Master Manoj
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: - (Hardly any dialogues)
Duration: ~18 minutes
Director:  Vinod Nag
Cast: MASTER MANOJ,
G.MURTHY, KSHAN PASHA
VISHNU V PRASANNA,
PRAJWAL
Ambani The Investor: A must watch for everyone!

Click here for our Short-Film Recommendations !

Mama’s Boys ★★½

A modern, naughty take on Mahabharata, with Pandavas, Kunti and Draupadi in the 21st century

Reader’s discretion advised. Some of the content in this review and the short film might be unsuitable for younger audience.

Synopsis

Mama’s Boys depicts a modern, naughty take on Mahabharata. The short film starts with Arjun bringing his newly wed wife Draupdi into the house for the first time. Subsequently, Kunti orders Pandavas to share Draupdi among them. Obviously, this puts Arjun in a fix. On one hand, he doesn’t want to ‘share’ his beautiful wife! On the other hand, he is a ‘mama’s boy’ and cannot refute Kunti’s order. Mama’s Boys explores an alternative re-imagination of he scenario from the perspective of Draupdi and the five brothers.

What works

Big budget and strong cast works for this short film. In comparison to new faces, it is proven that watching known faces is more soothing. Scientifically, this innate preference worked for us to progress by stronger social bindings, and to make friends (and enemies).

And this ingrained preference work in favor of Mama’s Boys. From Neena Gupta, Aditi Rao, Arunoday Singh to Razak Khan, the list continues. To tell you frankly, Mama’s Boys becomes borderline tolerable thanks to the star cast, otherwise this would have fallen flat on its face.

In particular, Aditi in the role of Draupdi has good facial expression and appears sensuous as required by the screenplay. Arjun played by Amol Parashar is also good.

What could have been better

Everything else! Just about everything could have been much better. Clearly, the team had no budget or talent constraints and they could have used such talent in much better story. To start with, the whole film does not flow coherently. Instead, it feels like collection of short incidents where you no longer even want to relate to the issue at hand.

Then comes the story. Delhi-Belly fame Akshat Verma has directed and written the short film. I liked that movie and the story Akshat presented, but that skill and the flow is completely amiss in Mama’s Boys. Consequently, the whole short film of 13 minutes (credits of 2 minutes extra) reduces to a random collection of sexual innuendoes.

Verdict

It is watchable thanks to the star cast, otherwise the short film offers nothing new or interesting. 

AglaPlay Verdict: A run-of-the-mill production with nothing new or interesting. Okay to watch for star cast.
AglaPlay Rating: 2.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~13 minutes
Writer: Akshat verma
Director:  Akshat verma
Cast: Aditi Rao Hydari, 
Amol Parashar,
Arunoday Singh, 
Jim Sarbh,
Neena Gupta,
Razak Khan,
Vivaan Shah,&
Others
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No6Q5aeTWzk
Mama’s Boys: Big Star Cast with Little Content

Click here for our Short-Film Recommendations !

Muskaan ★★★

Rahul plans a surprise to woo his crush Muskaan, but not everything goes as planned.

Synopsis

Rahul is planning a surprise for the girl he likes, and he has planned everything meticulously. After all, it could be the most important day of his life! Therefore, he chooses the best gift and orders a designer cake. It is the day to sweep her off her feet, but the fate had something else planned for him!

What works

Many things work in favor of this 3-minute short film. Firstly, the length itself is very appealing. In busy life, it is hard to find out time. Certainly it was very nice to see the short length of 3 minutes. Also, these 3 minutes are well spent! Secondly, the simplicity of the message work as a charm. Muskaan is free from complications and twists. Thirdly, and most importantly, it ends with a beautiful message.

What could have been better

We would rather not mention anything here in this section. Muskaan is a three-minute short film, and a very nice one at that.

Verdict

In short, please watch this short film. As they say, there is always a reason to smile, and Muskaan just might be one!

AglaPlay Verdict: Do watch!
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~3 minutes
Writer: Vikas Sharma
Director:  Sumel Brar
Cast: -
Muskaan: A 3-minute must watch

Raah ★★★

A guy offers lift to a girl. Catch? She is fascinated with ghosts and, the road is allegedly haunted!

Synopsis

In middle of nowhere, Ram gives a lift to a pretty girl Urvashi. They discuss about ghosts where they have opposing opinions. Saying anything beyond this will leak at least some part of the story, hence we stop here on the synopsis.

What works

The good things come in small packages, they say. Many of the short films prove it, but Raah owns it. In merely fifteen minutes, two actors and a hatchback, it takes the viewer through a roller coaster ride of suspense, relief and joy.

Raah excels in the direction parameter. The otherwise not so great story and budget constrained effects are brought out coherently. Twists in the story feel natural and timely. The music is functional, and does its job.

The short film comes as a welcome relief from the stable of cheaply made suspense thrillers. Cheap scares and jumping camera – forte of this genre – are totally avoided here and I thank the camera team and director for the same.

What could have been better

Budget. Ultimately, it is a low budget short film. That means there are compromises. The film suffers from shaky and grainy video. The maximum resolution is 720p and even that is quite dark. Sound quality is also not great but definitely manageable.

Verdict

A very good watch, especially for suspense/horror aficionados. If you can manage through the shortcomings of video quality, we would highly recommend the short film for the efforts and heart the team has put in.

AglaPlay Verdict: Do watch!
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: English/Hindi
Duration: ~15 minutes
Writer: Prateek Payodhi & Others
Director:  Prateek Payodhi
Cast: Rishi Verma,
Swarnika telang &
Others
Raah: worth a watch for suspense/horror aficionados