In this writer’s humble opinion, a short story is far better than a full-length novel. The plots are short and crisp, there is no meandering and most importantly, you don’t lose focus on what’s happening. 

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Short films fall in the same space. I have a short attention span, so I’d rather watch an interesting film that is 20 minutes long than watch a four-hour long masterpiece such as Apocalypse Now and Gone With The Wind. Don’t get me wrong: they are brilliant films, but there are portions that can get intertwined and I lose focus.

Of late, Indian filmmakers have tried their hand at making short films. While some are brilliant, others appear incomplete. There is also a third category where you ask yourself: “What did I just see?” 

A few months ago, social media was going insane after Sujoy Ghosh’s short film Ahalya, starring Radhika Apte released. At first glance, it seemed nice, but one was later told that it was loosely adapted on a Spanish animation film titled Alma. After watching the Spanish film, I’ll admit that there were similarities, particularly in the story’s twist, which is what prompted me to watch some more short films made by filmmakers.

In the last two days, this writer watched eight such movies — each of them unique in its own way and with a time frame ranging from four minutes right up to 20 minutes. Here’s what he thought of them...

Black Mirror

Director: Adi BurmanLength: 4:31If I were to be honest, this was the slowest four minutes of my life. The story, which focuses on an orphaned boy growing up in the streets of Mumbai, is dreary. I won’t blame the actor, but the narrative could have been much better than the ‘holier-than-thou’ rantWhat’s hot: The boy playing Rannu.What’s not: Boring narrative. Sounds preachy.Rating: **

Bypass 

Director: Amit KumarLength: 15:51 Starring Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, it is a dark, macabre thriller set in rural Rajasthan. The story revolves around a number of vehicles that are lost when they take a wrong turn leading to a bypass road. While the movie was gripping enough, there were instances I felt that required dialogue (no dialogue has been written). I won’t say that the movie is great, but it’s certainly worth watching once.What’s Hot: Good story. At times, leaves you at the edge of your seat.What’s Not: Lack of dialogue can, at times, bore you. Rating: ***1/2

Rastaa

Director: Digvijaya ChauhanLength: 3:28A cute story of the friendship between two boys begging on the streets of Mumbai. One day, one of the boys doesn’t get any money, while the other is given alms from every vehicle he approaches. The end is a nice heartwarming tale of friendship, even in the time of competition. The length of the movie, too, works perfectly.What’s hot: The performance of the two boys.What’s not: Nothing, really. Rating: ****

Ahalya

Director: Sujoy GhoshLength: 14:10I enjoyed Ahalya when I saw it the first time. I enjoyed it when I saw it the second and third time as well. While there will be comparisons and accusations of plagiarism, the fact is it’s a well-made film and Radhika Apte, I felt, was really good as the title’s character. However, I disagree that there is a Ramayana connection except for the name of the film.What’s hot: Soumitra Chatterjee as the old bichara husband.What’s not: There are parts that seem a bit slow.Rating: ***1/2

Tubelight Ka Chand

Length: 9:37Director: Shlok SharmaThe film, which is produced by Anurag Kashyap, is a storytelling masterpiece. So far, it’s on my top two in the list I’ve put here. The story is about a boy named Tubelight, who grows up on the streets of Kolkata. One evening, he sees the half moon and wants it for himself. Simultaneously, a series of bulb thefts in the city leave the cops hunting for the burglar. It’s a must watch.Rating: ****1/2What’s Hot: Beautiful storytelling and the child actor.What’s Not: Too hard to tell.

El’ayichi

Director:  Devashish Makhija.Length: 4:54The film that stars Nimrat Kaur is about a woman who constantly communicates with the ghost of her husband even as everyone else questions her sanity. The story is funny until you get to the end and wonder what happened because of its abrupt endRating: ***What’s Hot: Quirky and good in a weird wayWhat’s Not: Abrupt ending

My Dream

Director: Imtiaz AliLength: 5:23My fundamental issue with preachy movies is that I do not want to listen to a sermon. My Dream, which is part of the India Tomorrow series, does just that. A stock broker gets a call while he is at a brothel and is told that all his investments have crashed. He then gets financial advice from the prostitute, who tells him to take care of himself. Then the film gets into this zone where women speak for themselves. My fundamental problem is that I don’t need a film to tell me how to behave and that’s the fundamental reason why I didn’t enjoy itWhat’s Hot: The performance by the sex workerWhat’s Not: The holier than thou endingRating: **1/2

Primetime

Director: Rohan SippyLength: 6.27I’m not the biggest fan of Arnab Goswami, but Primetime took his level of reporting to a whole new level. I don’t know whether Sippy was trying to be funny or whether he was deliberately going over-the-top while discussing how a newsroom headed by a crazy editor functions. In all honesty, the movie (again a part of the India Tomorrow series) left me stunned and gave me hope that if this is the quality given by filmmakers, then even I could make a movieWhat’s Hot: NothingWhat’s Not: EverythingRating:1/2

Soap

Director: Bejoy NambiarLength: 12.35When Jackie Shroff plays a maths teacher, you know you’re in for some fun. Add to that a television show that is a parallel to his real life and starring Rajendranath Zutshi, and you get even more interested. The 12 minute movie, despite Jackie’s hamming at parts, was a total entertainer with the right amount of laughs and gasps.What’s Hot: A brilliant story.What’s Not: Jackie hamming is initially entertaining, but gets annoying towards the end.Rating: ***

Others

Director: Pradip SarkarLength: 3:32The second of the India Tomorrow series of short films I saw left me feeling good. True, this too was a sermon like My Dream. But the transgender cast in the film do a lovely job and are believable. The same can also be said about the family about to give away their transgender baby to the community.What’s Hot: Feel good story, with some strong performancesWhat’s Not: Still too preachyRating: ***

That Sunday

Director: Prabhakar ‘Meena Bhaskar’ PaneLength: 15:00There are movies that try hard to be good. In my opinion, That Sunday falls in this category. It could have been a great film, but the storyline twist kills it for me.  The story, for those interested, is about a woman who is raped by her boss and how her autistic husband deals with it after her finds out about the incident. What’s Hot: Competent performances by the actors, particularly the husbandWhat’s Not: Tries too hard, despite winning at CannesRating: **1/2

Afterglow 

Length: 19:55Director: Kaushal OzaAfterglow is about a Parsi woman, who has just lost her husband and has a number of fellow Parsis coming over to pay their last respects. However, the so-called well-wishers rather talk about themselves, much to the amusement of the woman, brilliantly played by Anahita Uberoi. A parallel story showcases the relationship between her and her terminally ill husband (a lovely performance by Sohrab Ardeshir) and how they joke about death. The movie makes you laugh, cry and I personally related to it, given my family made it a point to celebrate my father’s life after he passed away last year.Rating: *****What’s Hot: EverythingWhat’s Not: Nothing

Dukkar

Director: Surya MenonLength: 11:12The film focuses on an underworld don, played by Tigmanshu Dhulia, who years for his old Fiat (the Dukkar), a black sedan, which happens to be his first car. He deputes his man to find it and bring it back to him. After a lot of searching, his assistant locates one Mr Daruwala who lives in Dadar Parsi Colony and meets him. Daruwala is initially hesitant, but returns the car, saying it has brought him nothing but bad luck. The film ends with the don and his assistant taking the car for a spin.Personally, I enjoyed the movie. It had its moments of humour, but what stood out was the graphic novel-like feel that parts of the movie had.What’s Hot: Tight story, competent acting, brilliant endWhat’s Not: The security guard in one of the scenes wasn’t neededRating: ***1/2