Short Film – Page 4 – AglaPlay.com

Shwet Rakht ★★★

A short film on gender inequality which combines two issues through one commonality

Synopsis

Shwet Rakht (White blood) raises the issue of gender inequality. The short film highlights the issues on two fronts where girls are mistreated – malnutrition and infanticide. The short film is about a young poor girl Gudiya. Also, it is about her expecting mother. Through their eyes, we see the ill treatment of girl. The short film ends with a blood-curdling irony.

What Works

The best part of Shwet Rakht is its over-arching theme. While many of us would be aware of the twin discrimination against girls, connecting them with a common theme was a masterstroke!

The short film’s music is also done well. Mostly Indian instruments are used, which not only add more authentic rustic feeling to the short film, but also add to the expression of feelings. Though I fear that it adds too much at times!

Shwet Rakht also has a memorable performance form Dr Vidhu Saxena in her role as Gudiya’s mother.

What could have been better

Despite its pluses, we must say it upfront – Shwet Rakht is not great. It could have been better on all fronts. Or, you can say that it goes over the top on all departments. We are mentioning two major disappointing ones here.

First, the idea of using milk as an unifying theme is praiseworthy, but Shwet Rakht has excessive dramatization. Some of the dialogues which are used to show Gudiya’s cravings for milk are almost ridiculous and a very long stretch of imagination. In fact, if you would look closely, they are contradicting another shot in this short film itself!

Second, Shwet Rakht has ‘incorrect’ acting except for Dr Saxena and may be, Ms Dhondiyal. By ‘incorrect’, we simply mean the format of acting. The actors has enacted a more theatrical performance, which is very different from a film acting.

As some of you would have experienced, a theatre needs over dramatization from the characters because of the limitations of props, setup and the background music. A great theatre performance is nothing but an overbearing one in a film format. Shwet Rakht suffers from this same over-dramatization through both acting and music.

Verdict

Shwet Rakht is overall a watchable short movie despite its severe short comings. The theme is very good and moves you emotionally.

AglaPlay Verdict: One time watch, raises relevant social issues
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi / Rajasthani
Duration: ~18 minutes
Writer-Director: S. R. Mukesh
Co-Writer: Anuradha Malla
Cast: Dr Vidhu Saxena (Mother),
Jasmeet Kaur (Gudiya),
Vimala Dhondiyal (Grandmother),
Kunal Shamshere Malla (Birju) &
Others

Shwet Rakht (White Blood): Raises Social Issues of Gender Inequality

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Ek Dopahar ★★★★

An amazing short film with Huma and Gauhar in the lead.

Synopsis

Ek Dopahar is a touching (or shocking) story of relationships and bonding. This short film is about a girl Raina who broker-up with her boyfriend eight years back. Come to today, she has to visit his city for some office work and wants to meet with him. Mostly he would be married by now, probably with kids, and his wife may not like Raina! But Raina is interested in meeting him just as a friend, a close friend.

What works

Firstly, Ek Dopahar has amazing acting from Huma and Gauhar. This short film is perhaps the best I have seen from these two actors. The anxiety of Huma’s character when she awaits for the email response is so natural. Gauhar has also delivered an amazing performance! Sorry, can’t write more here because of potential spoilers.

But more than acting, Ek Dopahar’s appeal is in the underlying story and the direction. Kudos to writer-director Swati’s work who has woven this lovely short film! For those of you who may catch it, the short film is unique in its writing! Ek Dopahar has two entirely different interpretations and the short film does justice to each of them.

Minor Spoiler Alert. Better to read after watching. Hints for differential interpretation

1. It relates to a scene in Ek Dopahar which involves a phone call.
2. The other possibility lead to entirely opposite portrayal of Gauhar’s character

What could have been better

Ek Dopahar has nothing at which I would like to point my fingers. The short film is a mice work! Let me know if you, the reader thinks differently!

Verdict

Overall, Ek Dopahar is defintiely worth a watch! In fact, it is almost at that point, where we mark the short film as a must watch. Though please note that the topic is very small and this short film may not appeal to everyone.

AglaPlay Verdict: A very good short film!
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi / English
Duration: ~11 minutes
Writer-Director: Swati Srivastava
Cast: Huma Qureshi &
Gauhar Khan

Ek Dopahar: A well-done short film!

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Ved and Arya ★★★

Arya surprise visits her brother on Friday evening. She is looking all lively and casual, but is everything normal?

Synopsis

Ved and Arya is story of brother-sister bonding. This short story focuses on the non-judgemental nature of the brotherly love. Arya visits her brother Ved on a Friday evening which gets Ved concerned. After all, it is a Friday evening and Arya always has some plans for Friday. From there, this story of Arya’s failure to hide the special thing in her life opens by layers.

What works

Ved and Arya has a very soothing undertone. The setup is very homely, relaxing and lighting is done very well. This short film can be watched as a short break from an otherwise hectic day spent in fighting cacophony of life.

Another thing we loved was camera work. May be it is an unplanned outcome, but camera moves as if it is following the conversation. Specially in the scene where Ved and Arya are in the kitchen, the camera focus increases with their conversation. While it may be missed consciously, we are affected by the sub-conscious effect of such nice work and soothing lighting.

Nakuul and Sanaya fit in their roles of Ved and Arya well. We have no complaints there.

What could be better

The story! The story could have been better. Like really, the story has absolutely nothing in it. Ved and Arya has supposedly a shocking reveal, but it was so obvious that we didn’t even bat an eyelid.

Also, the conversations are done well but their is hardly any real content in the discussions. The whole conversation moves with agenda of bringing out Arya’s past and Ved’s care for her. It is so uni-directional that we simply lost interest after a point.

Verdict

In summary, Ved and Arya is not bad, but sadly we cannot say it very good either. How about, a simple ‘Good’?

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth A Watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi / English
Duration: ~12 minutes
Writer: Sharanya Rajgopal
Director: Ritesh Menon
Cast: Nakuul Mehta,
Sanaya Irani

Ved and Arya: Bonding of siblings

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Adheen ★★★½

Family tension, challenges with past, issues in present and a possible future – how does this family copes with all?

Synopsis

Adheen is a story of differences in a family. The short story unravels the challenges the characters faced in the past and their stances. Well ,they generally stay apart and they rarely meet with each other. This time they have come together because they got to know about failing health of their dad. I will rather stop here, because everything else about the story should be learnt when you watch the film.

What works

Adheen has yet another great piece of work from actor Sanjay Mishra. He is the central character of the story and does a magnificent job at being the character. Neeraj and Anupriya also have done well in their respective roles.

The better part of Adheen is the story. The story is a almost a thriller, with an interesting ending. I am almost feeling sorry here as I cannot drop any hints at all about this short film. However, I can tell you this much that the characters are not what they sound in the first one or two minutes. As they talk, you will see that characters run deeper when they share glimpses of the past.

Last, I liked the song that plays in the past. Coincidentally, the song is performed by Neeraj who has also played the role of the son.

I also liked dialogues and the setup – the room where the movie is shot is done very well. Small details like Sanjay mixing Tang (or Rasna) are captured well.

What could have been better

While Adhheen is a good short film, it has its own flaws. One, the characters are too atypical. One or two would be alright, but all the four (yes, there are four characters) characters deviate from the society’s normality. In the same family, this was a little too much for me, and makes me wonder if this was done just to spicy things up!

Verdict

Overall, Adheen is a perfectly watchable short film. It is pretty good , in fact. It is just that it does not cut the list of the bests. Also, while we loved the ending, not everyone may like it.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth A Watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~19 minutes
Writer-Director:  Yash Verma
Cast: Sanjay Mishra,
Neeraj Purohit & 
Anupriya Goenka

Adheen: Short film on familial tensions

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Unarranged ★★★★½

Groom talks with his bride for the first time as he sneaks into her room, as Baarat waits outside!

Synopsis

Unarranged is an unusual beautiful story of an arranged marriage. This short film presents an unusual situation where the groom has come to meet the bride just before the marriage. It seems that the bride’s consent was never taken for the marriage and she is obviously furious over the whole developments. What happens next is a classic take on this unusual situation.

What works

Unarranged has an amazing story line. While we agree that the groom coming to meet bride for the first time just before the marriage is a tad unusual, but that is what it is! Apart from that piece, the whole story flows spontaneously.

In fact, the story connects deeply with the thought processes of so many young couples who decided to tie the knot under the arranged marriage setup. Like the characters in this short film, they also would be knowing little about their future partners.

Unarranged also has very good acting. Syed Shabahat Ali nails the role of the groom. He captures the audience attention and sympathy. Tanya Singh also fit well in the role of bride. We could not find any fault with the other three characters as well.

This short film also has an surprisingly good detailing on the audio. For those who will notice, the background noise fade-ins and fade-outs are balanced very well to reflect the outdoor noise and the emotional timings.

What could have been better

Nothing that we could find on. We really liked Unarranged and there is nothing that we would like to point our fingers on.

Verdict

Unarranged is a gem, and a must watch short film. It is young audience friendly and whole family can watch this short film together. After watching short films like Unarranged, one wonders why Bollywood fails to produce such great content with their huge budgets! But anyway…

AglaPlay Verdict: A Must Watch
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~19 minutes
Writer-Director:  Rahul Bhatnagar
Cast: Syed Shabat Ali,
Tanya Singh,
Rishabh Tripathi,
Apurva Shukla &
Vipin

Unarranged: A Must Watch Short Film on Arranged Marriage