Short Film – Page 3 – AglaPlay.com

The Deal ★★½

A girl torn between reality and desires strikes a deal to get what she thought she wanted… What happens next?

Synopsis

The Deal is a horror thriller about a girl alone in her friend’s home. The short film is about a deal that is done between the girl and the other. What was the deal and what happens next is shown in this short horror flick of 8 minutes.

What works

The Deal has good scare quotient. To director’s credit, these are not cheap scares which are generally applied in the Bollywood movies. However one may debate these are so oft repeated, oft reproduced ones, to the extent that one may call them borderline cliche.

Popular child actress of 2000s, Ahsaas Channa, has acted well in The Deal. Also, we do not have any complains with the setup, lighting and the camera work.

What could have been better

To be honest,The Deal lacks a good story! In fact, the short film feels like one half-baked idea served with cliched horror situations. We believe some extension of the idea could have helped. Further, the basic premise seem flawed when you try to think about the flat where the girl’s friend was living fine.

Verdict

Despite good execution, The Deal lives short of the expectation. Weak (and partially flawed) story line humbles the otherwise good work.

AglaPlay Verdict: Average
AglaPlay Rating: 2.5/5
Language: Hindi / English
Duration: ~8 minutes
Writer-Director: GLN (?)
Cast: Ahsaas Channa

The Deal: Desires versus Fear: A Horror Short

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Kathakar ★★★½

Prakash followed his passion through his job. Now retired, he searches for meaning in his retirement.

Synopsis

Kathakar (Story teller) is a story of of a retired man who loved and lived his job. The short film stars Piyush Mishra in leading role of Prakash. A devoted Bollywood-fan, Prakash used to manage projector in a single-screen cinema. Whenever the show was housefull or whenever the crowd cheered for their favorite actors, Prakash used to feel as if the crowd is cheering for them.

Sadly, with advent of technology and corporate multiplexes, Prakash’s job has become irrelevant and he is asked to leave his job. Kathakar is the story of so many retirees who are suddenly let go of the jobs which they worshiped and spent their lives on. It is a short film which also shows the way Prakash fights back for his passions and finally wins his own ‘Housefull’!

What works

Legendary Piyush Mishra shines yet again in his portrayal of Prakash. Everytime, his on-screen energy beats actors of half his age. Here, Kathakar is no exception and it is Piyush’s show from the first scene till last!

Kathakar is also supported by a heart-touching story. The short film has a tangible touch and feel, which is in-turn supported by the gently done setup and excellent dialects.

Lighting and cinematography are also very good. In particular, solo shots are extremely well captured!

What could have been better

Kathakar could have just been better on the sound department. Some of the dialogues do not come out clearly. Background sound could also be better to take care of expected ambient noises given the rural setup.

Verdict

Kathakar is a must watch short film. It is a must watch for Piyush Mishra, its story, its short length and its underlying inspirational tone! Please watch!

AglaPlay Verdict: Must Watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi / Bhojpuri
Duration: ~10 minutes
Writer-Director: Abhimanyu Kanodia
Cast: Piyush Mishra &
Others

Kathakar: A Retired man searches for meaning in his retirement

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Pencil Box ★★★★★

A masterpiece on friendship, love, family and social discrimination.

Synopsis

Pencil Box is a story of societal discrimination and dual standards. The short film uses childhood’s innocence as the tool to present this impactful story of discrimination, love and friendship. Setup in Kashmir, it is about a young chap Appu. For some reasons, Appu is never allowed to visit anywhere except his school and close neighborhood. By the end of the story, a painful truth is brought to light.

What Works

Everything! Everything works for Pencil Box… The short film paints a beautiful and memorable picture of natural beauty of Kashmir, friendship, mother-son bond, love and more – all in a mere 28 minutes! Kudos to direction and writing of Amit Sanouria!

Films like Pencil Box makes me ask the question why Bollywood with its big budgets regularly fails to create such magic! Perhaps it is about our fascination with love-stories and acknowledging only a romantic couple as the on-screen love.

Whatever be the case, let us focus on Pencil Box here. This is a masterpiece in terms of acting. The performance is moving and it is tough to single-out the best actor among all. The actors have made the best of the role even in the briefest of the moments.

Pencil Box also excels in cinematography. Natural beauty is captured very well and is soothing to the eyes. The scenes where Appu is playing in river with his friends are memorable.

What could have been better?

We have absolutely nothing to write here! May be, the title? I mean, the short film merely has very little, if anything, to do with Pencil Box!

Also, length can be a let-down for few, but the film uses the 30 minutes to its fullest. Nothing to complain there.

Verdict

Pencil Box is a monumental short film and is a must watch for everyone!

AglaPlay Verdict: Must Watch
AglaPlay Rating: 5.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~29 minutes
Writer-Director: Amit Sanouria
Cast: Aryan Randhawa (Appu),
Anant Singh Dhaliwal (Bittu),
Paramjeet Kaur (Mother),
Gurjeet Deol (Transgender) &
Others

Pencil Box: A Classic!

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A Simple Plan ★★★

An old man ‘plans’ to nab a young couple who rob people with their ‘plan’ asking for lift

Synopsis

A Simple Plan is a story of plannings going wrong. On his regular route between two cities, Subhash regularly sees a couple asking for lift. The protagonist decides to investigate them after police refuses any help. Now we have our protagonist who has his plans to capture the rogues in the act, while the couple has other plans. As the short film goes on to prove, the simplest plans are not so simple in execution!

What Works

A Simple Plan has a very good story. It is an engaging piece of writing from Kalpesh Mistry. The writing keep the viewer on hook till the last scene. The short film is full of action and there is hardly a dull moment in the film. End is dark, but then, it was supposed to be a dark comedy!

What could have been better

Everything else except story could have been done much better in A Simple Plan.

To start with, the acting is not up to the mark. Actors feel detached from the characters. In particular, Supriya Mishra disappoints in her portrayal of Chitra.

Another problem with A Simple Plan is its camerawork. The camera seems to be out of focus on so many scenes that you no longer even care.

Third, but perhaps the biggest fault of the short film is its badly done action scenes. Everyone moves out of sync in action sequence.

Verdict

On many fronts, A simple plan is very similar to Urf Professor (2001). The statement can be taken as a compliment as Urf Professor enjoys a cult status today. But it must be noted that Urf Professor is known for its faults, and today’s short films cannot be judged with 2001 standards.

Overall, A Simple Plan is helped by its engaging story-line and is worth a watch for fans of dark-humor.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~18 minutes
Writer-Director: Kalpesh Mistry
Cast: Kumar Pravesh (Subhash), 
Jayesh Pandey (Rajat), 
Supriya Mishra (Chitra), 
Sachin K Jaryal (Police Constable) &
Emraanakbar Enamdar (Victim)

A Simple Plan: Dark Comedy which deserves a watch!

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Soulmate ★★★

A dark love story of a live-in couple from Thriller/Horror genre.

Synopsis

Soulmate is a thriller shot in black and white. It is a story of a couple who share a flat. Like other couple, they get into arguments time and again. The opening scene is a similar situation where the guy has to leave for some days, but he is angry with the girl and does not want to talk with her. The girl sadly bids him good bye. The boy returns home bringing all the joy to his partner, but… Now, there is a but which will be revealed best when you watch the movie!

What works

Soulmate has the surprise/shock element that is required by the genre. To its credit, it delivers that shock to the audience very well.

Also, we liked the acting of the central character played by Saloni. Considering the limited scope of the character-play in Soulmate, it is notable that she leaves an impression on the viewers.

What could have been better

Cinematography could have been better in Soulmate. I liked the idea of monochromatic cinematography. However, the execution is very bad. The whole movie seemed out of focus, which might have been caused by a poor camera or post-processing. Either way, the end result is not appealing to the eyes.

Verdict

Overall, Soulmate is an average short film which does a decent job in presenting a short thriller. At less than 12 minutes of running time, it is worth a watch.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~12 minutes
Directors: Anshuman singh & Yasir Jah
Cast: Saloni Choujar,
Yasir Jah & 
Anshuman Singh