Short Film – Page 2 – AglaPlay.com

Levish ★★★★½

A teenage girl in remote village wishes for a pair of jeans.

Synopsis

Levish is story of a teenage girl, Babli who lives in a remote village. She has one wish – to own a pair of jeans. Granted that the wish may look very easy to many of us; to Babli, owning one is almost a fairy-tale given her situation. While this short film talks of poverty, betrayals, superstition and dual standards of the society towards women, Levish also has underlying sweetness of brotherly love and care.

What works

Levish is a charm. It has many strengths and hardly any weaknesses.

First of all, the actors have performed exceedingly well in Levish. Audience may actually hate the male characters for their duality. And the same audience may root for the protagonist.

However, even the best of the performances cannot hold a short film on its own. And here the music and cinematography extend their able support. The genuineness of music and scenic beauty captured by cinematography are further complemented by the raw and simple village ambience in Levish.

Last, but the strongest pillar in Levish‘s foundation is its story. The short film easily has one of the best stories I have watched lately in an Indian short film.

What could have been better

In our opinion, the scenes involving Babli’s father could have been done better. But then there is nothing obnoxiously wrong with them. It is just that Levish otherwise is so well-done that these few scenes seem incongruous in acting or editing.

Verdict

A must watch! Watch Levish for a gripping story, touching end, good performances, beautiful cinematography and fitting music!

AglaPlay Verdict: A must watch
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi 
Duration: ~20 minutes
Writer-Director: Manas Nanda
Cast: Aarohi Shyam Choudhury (Babli), 
Shreyan Ganguly (Chhotu),
Arun Dutta (Uncle), 
Nandini Banerjee (Mother), 
Dhiman Chakravarty (Father) &
Others

Levish: A must watch short capturing a teenage girl’s modest wish

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Rajma ★★★

A sweet story of a couple who have a together-time only after 3 years of marriage, all thanks to Corona.

Synopsis

Rajma is story of a couple who is married for three years now. Like many other families, Covid health situation gives them the opportunity to spend time together. And, then it happens. They suddenly realize that they might not have meant to be together. Singing, cleaning, cooking, family – they fight over all possible reasons until the girl gets a call from one of her relatives.

What works

Rajma has three areas of strength – acting, simple story and a sweet message.

First, all three actors make their impact felt despite a very simple story-line which had not much to offer.

Second, Rajma’s story is simple, yet impactful. Honestly, the story is so simple that in the first few seconds we thought it to be yet another couple-short-story. Thankfully it turned out to be much better!

Third, and most important, we liked Rajma for its underlying message, and it is delivered in even sweeter manner.

Verdict

Overall, Rajma is a sweet short film which is worth a watch.

AglaPlay Verdict: Sweet couple story worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi / Marathi / English 
Duration: ~11 minutes
Writer-Director: Sumeet Vyas and Anand Tiwari
Cast: Sucheta Khanna, 
Jiyaa Shankar, &
Zebby Singh

Haircut: A sweet short drama film

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Haircut ★★★

A simple haircut proves to be anything but simple for our simple protagonist! How? Simply watch it to know…

Synopsis

Haircut is a situational comedy of a groom who visits an upmarket salon for the first time in his life. Quite naturally, our hard-working middle class hero is feeling little low on confidence. What happens in this short visit of a haircut?

What works

Imran Rasheed is at his natural best here in the central role. He truly excelled in the depiction and transition of character from awe, shyness, lust to helplessness and anger.

Haircut must also be praised for its story telling which could involve so many of the flavors in one single, simple setup. Especially notable is the way this short film could also capture salon-regulars apathy towards the protagonist in such short frame of time. As a result, it works as a perfect break for audience looking for a quick laugh!

What could have been better

While there is nothing bad with Haircut, it somehow feels very average. Except for acting and the story-telling, it is quite too plain and too simple. Also, it has some scenes do not add any value to the story and we believe editing could have been slightly better.

Verdict

Haircut does its job in giving a good quick laugh to the audience with its simple story telling. It deserves a watch, and audience of all age-group will enjoy it.

AglaPlay Verdict: Watch for a quick laugh and simple story
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi 
Duration: ~9 minutes
Writer-Director: Sumeet Vyas and Anand Tiwari
Cast: Imraan Rasheed &
Others

Haircut: A Simple story telling with more than a few good laughs

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Vacancy ★★★½

Durgesh Kumar from Lucknow is trying his very best to get selected in the interview. What’s so special about the vacancy?

Synopsis

Vacancy is a satire on over-population and its effects. The short film is a solo act where we see the protagonist Durgesh Kumar as an interviewee. This seems to be pretty important interview! Naturally, Durgesh puts his best foot forward on every question posed to him! Whether he gets selected or not, and what was the goal of the interview is clarified at the end of this very short short film!

What works

Yet again, Panchayat / Paatal Lok famed Aasif Khan spreads his on-screen His raw and bona fide portrayal of Durgesh is impeccable. Kudos to Aasif for bringing so much of impact and authenticity in barely 5 minutes of screen time in Vacancy!

Also, I must praise the intelligent dialogue writing of Vacancy. The short film with hardly any props, 5 minutes length, and solo actor would have easily been a unmemorable run-of-the-mill. In fact, it might be interesting to re-watch the interview to appreciate the deeper meaning of Q&A, and the sharp dialogue writing.

Last, the total video time of Vacancy hardly crosses 4 minutes. In a feature of such a short length, it is tough to find any gaps. After all, keeping the length short is also a merit, and is not achievable by everyone.

What could have been better

Nothing critical, but to me personally, the end seemed a little far fetched. But then it’s me, and it is nothing that holds you back from enjoying the short film!

Verdict

Worth a watch – suitable for all ages.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi 
Duration: ~4 minutes
Director: Anurag Bhupen Worlikar
Cast: Aasif Khan

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Balloon Pinch ★★★½

A contrasting perspective of two individuals affected by similar incidence…

Synopsis

Balloon Pinch is an analysis of the perspectives. A father has lost his son in an accident. This bereaved father meets with a guy in a bar who reminds him of his lost son. After a few pegs and talks, the two open up to each other. This short film is the story of the hidden darkness, and circumstantial helplessness of the two characters.

What works

Vikram Gokhale is the star of the show and carries Balloon Pinch on his able, tenured shoulders. As expected, he is fantastic in every shot. Anger, sadness and his powerlessness as a father – all of it reflects not only though his words, but equally though his eyes and body language.

Here, I must appreciate the director Sanjay Rawal as well who did a great work on some unforgettable scenes like the one where Vikram throws the stirrer on bar.

Balloon Pinch has a great story. In comparison to other attempts int his genre, this short film successfully shows both the sides to the audience. Moreover, the setup, the camera work are also well done and we do not find anything to complain on the technical as well.

What could have been better

First, the language. Time and again I have felt that some content is just more suited to vernacular languages. Balloon Pinch is an example of such content. The first thought that came to me while watching this short film was how much better it could have felt had it been in Hindi or Marathi! Not so much to my amazement, the short film was first shot in Marathi, then dubbed to English…

Second, Karan Bendre could just have much better. In contrast to Vikram’s performance, he delivers far less that what was expected from him in Balloon Pinch.

Verdict

Overall, it is definitely worth a watch. In particular, I liked the story and the detailing both helplessness of both the characters has been brought out.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi / English (Marathi link also provided)
Duration: ~8 minutes
Writer: Bhavesh Rawal
Director: Sanjay Rawal
Cast: Vikram Gokhle,
Karan Bendre

Balloon Pinch: Two Perspectives – Which one is right, which one is wrong?

Balloon Pinch (Marathi version with English Subtitle)