The film builds its world at a sustained pace. It starts off with humor and eccentricity as a man gradually tries to make sense of his new humble dwelling, to say the least. In trying to align it with his ideas of auspicious domestic placement, he bathes in the kitchen and cooks in the washroom. 
The protagonist is more than content with this. However, the circumstance is hardly inviting for his hapless, pregnant wife, Bhavna. As the conflict between the couple regarding the situation mounts, a terrible development occurs from which there is no looking away. 
What the film briefly lacks in terms of maturity of tonality, it comfortably compensates with its strong visual grammar. The notable storytelling also eventually presents a crucial metaphor, one that takes the film home in a complete, balanced manner after having lucidly communicated all that it had set out to with its premise.

Sookha Patta  | Short Film of the Month

‘Krishna Chaaya’ has a lovely quietness to it, one which allows it to make its comment emphatically, ensuring the message is heard loud and clear. At its opening, we are introduced to a young couple, Krishna and Chaaya, and their endearing love story. However, the film soon develops to reveal a reality that is fraught with far more complex nuances and circumstances than we would have gauged at first glance. 

As we get more and more involved in the tribulations of the couple, there is something to be said about the simple transgressions that might be taken for granted behind the wall of privilege - young love and secret love affairs for instance. Without explicitly saying thus, there is also an important comment being made about the double obstacle placed in women’s path, as compared to their male counterparts within the same class spectrum. At the same time, a woman of a higher class easily trumps the freedom of choice of a man who belongs to a lower one. 
 
The film raises all of these points and more, leaving the viewer with a story that would stay with them even after they are done watching the film.

Krishna Chaaya | Short Film Nominee

Amrita waits for her husband on their anniversary. She's planned a small little surprise for him. She is
inflating balloons, sprinkling red rose petals, putting decoration pieces across the room. Yet, for all of
this infusion of colour, the general vibe is ominous. Instead of being accentuated through
complementing music, these gestures are cast in pin-drop silence. A silence so stark that you’re wary of an impending doom. 
The day turns to evening, then to night. The balloons are deflating, the decorations are falling off, yet
her husband doesn’t arrive. For a brief moment, the narrative gives us momentous, tragic information.
Just when we’re on the verge of believing that as truth, we see a key turn in the door handle.

Happy Anniversary | Lockdown Film Challenge

The film adopts an interesting and entertaining approach to share its story, ensuring that you do not see any of the developments coming. It is complete with thrill, humour and a dramatic element of its own. When we are taken into the life of a grandmother who is living by herself, missing her relatives and waiting for them to visit, the viewer is made to expect perhaps a story of emotional isolation or at least of an emotion akin to it. However, what it offers instead is a fun, unpredictable progression of events through its engaging narrative. The film loses some points in the department of visuals, but the writing and storytelling allow it to recover from it.

Cookies | Lockdown Film Challenge

The title of the film borrows an apt metaphor to portray the prisoner-jailer, the incarcerated-authority dynamics at a prison. The inmates fight with each other over small matters, episodes that threaten to turn into violent brawls. They also nurture their own individual bonds with the officers. However, above all, they harbor the hope and desire to be free one day. 

The endeavor of weaving it all together, though marked by a few rough edges, is defined by sincerity. There is further an honest attempt to engage with the complexities of interpersonal human dynamics. As for the fate of the prisoners - the short film has a neat, conclusive answer about what is in store for them.

Snakes & Ladders | Short Film Nominee

A dead boy’s body is found on the shore by fishermen. They conjecture about what to do with it, but are reluctant to take responsibility. The same site transforms as a beach for people where they
come for recreation or leisure, like morning walks. The seaside also belongs to dogs who wander about.
The film observes the light and shadow of the place and life, each element indifferent to each other, going about its quiet existence, perhaps serving as a metaphor for life itself.

Kinaari | Short Film Nominee

Anusha finds his colleague Aditya grieving his father’s death one night in office. Naturally, feeling
sorry for his loss, she wishes to comfort him. They step out for a smoke, and realise this was the first
time that they were having a conversation, despite all these years of working together. After finding
themselves in the midst of a tragic circumstance, they begin to bond over shared pain. Talking to a
stranger about your deepest loss can become a weird and awkward situation, but Aditya and Anusha
find comfort in each other. Perhaps, there is also an ease in baring your vulnerability to a stranger. She
tells him that when she was a child her mother would say, people who died turned into stars. But since
she is unable to show Aditya any ‘real’ star in the sky, she instead creates a starry night for him.

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