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: -
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.
A retired school principal accepts an exchange offer of his old personal computer, bringing several other changes as well.
Synopsis
Shiv Kumar Pant is a retired school principal living a lonely life in Delhi. He has lost his wife, while the son lives in California. Shiv is a loner by design, and he rebuffs any attempt of socialization. Consequently, he has very little contact with his relatives except his son. Moreover, Shiv is unappreciative of any changes in life!
However, destiny has other plans! One fine day, Shiv’s 16-year old computer breaks down. During these sixteen long years, technologies have changed a lot and the repair is not possible. As a result, Shiv agrees for the replacement with a newer computer. Only if he knew what other changes will this single exchange will bring…
What works
The character development of the central character is among the best we have seen in recent times. The director has not rushed through scenes. Ample time and space is given to the character of Shiv Kumar Pant to grow. Every feature of the character is brought out delicately. We connected with Raina as Shiv as a strict disciplinarian, a lonely widower and a hobbyist.
Even the non-central characters of son and house-help are developed well. We get to know about Bisveswar by his comic ranting. Facial expressions of Aryan in role of helpless son deserve an appreciation.
Story is very well-thought, accompanied by a very effective screenplay and editing. The film picks up finer facets in the lives of the characters and deliver them very beautifully, one at a time. All the messages, including the central message which is displayed at the end of the short film is delivered at a perfect pace.
What could have been better
Call me a fault-finder, but ‘Amit’ feels schemed and artificial in many scenes. It may be director’s hint to the climax, but we feel otherwise. In our opinion, Taher could have done a much better ‘Amit’.
Another minor drawback is the last scene of the film. Except for the climatic end, the whole movie is very realistic. A simple climax would have seemed logically and aesthetically ordered. Instead we get a larger-than-life climax focusing on just two characters. That was out-of-sync to us.
Verdict
Exchange Offer is almost a masterpiece. Even with its few passable nuisances, it is a very good short.
AglaPlay Verdict: Do watch!
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~29 minutes
Writer: Saunak Mitra
Director: Saunak Mitra
Cast: M K Raina (Shiv Pant),
Taher Shabbir (Amit Kulkarni),
Surendra Ranjan (Bisveswar),
Aryan Roy(Rishabh Pant) &
Others
A French girl is under pressure to retain her job in India, while suffering from psychological disorders.
Synopsis
The protagonist is a French national. She is working as an expat in India. She has troubles differentiating between reality and illusion, leading her to wash her hands repeatedly and other non-normal activities. The Job is titled so to reflect her pressure to continue working and somehow manage to keep her current employment.
What works
The name of Kalki Koechin. If she was not there in the movie, I might not have even opened the link, and would have closed it in 2 minutes tops.
What doesn’t work
Nothing works in this short film. Quite likely, the viewer would be in suspense what the film wanted to say even after completing the film. On the positive side, though, I wonder that the emotion would be shared with the production team…
One of the you tube commenters (possibly one from the movie production team itself) has tried to provide of the short-film has tried answering the query but that still leaves a lot of loop-holes open.
Many a time super-hit Bollywood blockbusters also have such issues of failures and unbelievable plots. For example, Shahkrukh’s character in Chennai Express was a rich businessman’s grandson and had never been to Goa. Later, he decides to risk his grandpa’s ashes for a Goa trip with friends! Seriously, Goa trip for a Mumbaikar? Just to put the character in train?
However, Chnnai Express was at least enjoyable and entertaining. On the other hand,The Job is neither.
Even at acting level, it is a straight face Kalki maintains in the whole short. May be a little here and there, but the above featured image on this review is what you will see from Kali in the whole movie. That is her working face, her talking to boss face, her murdering face, her hand-washing face – everything. It is there!
I can take flights of fantasy and can still justify the story, but I still won’t be able to turn it entertaining for any of the audiences or readers, hence…
A mother’s gift to her son on his birthday is worth much more that it looks to be.
Synopsis
The short film about mother-son relation of Ved and his mother. It is Ved’s birthday today. Certainly this is going to be a great day! Not only his friends have planned a surprise but his mother has bought a small special gift for him.
The short film explores the emotions behind this small gift. While these emotions are certainly not small, would Dev figure them out? Spoiler: he does – not really a spoiler there :), but do watch to figure out why and how was the gift valuable!
What works
The raw charm of a simple, uncomplicated story-telling works for Special Day. Sheeba-Shantanu duo portrays the Mother-son relationship elegantly. The emotions flow through the film as choreographed to a perfection. Many a stories fall into trap of being too emotional. Many a times, they also delve too much into the sacrifices. Very often, relationships are pictured as a combination of burden and sacrifices. It is so entrenched in Indian culture that the natural love takes a backseat.
Special Day reminds us that the beauty of a relationship or care for someone else. Such care can often be totally insignificant to a third person. Malti’s gift to Ved is something money can buy and she can definitely afford it. At least, that is what his friends can judge the gift to be! But Ved knows better and acts on it leading to one of the cutest endings in a short film.
The short film does well on other technical prospects, too. Cinematography, music, lighting, and setup are all done well. Screenplay and dialogues are also done well.
What could have been better
The scene where Ved meets is with his friends in the car (it happens around 5:50 in the movie). Ved’s friends behave in a much too animated and unrealistic manner. That whole scene is a bit let down from the amazing central story. Although I can provide a list of problems with this scene, that scene is anyway very small turbulence in this otherwise cozy flight.
