Shorts[1] is a compilation of five short films directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Vasan Bala, Anubhuti Kashyap (Anurag Kashyap's sister[2]), Shlok Sharma and Gitanjali Rao.[3] The five short films titled Sujata, Mehfuz, Audacity, Epilogue, and Shor were released on 12 July 2013.[4][5]
Sujata is a riveting tale of a young girl, who is struggling to come out of the clutches of her tormenting cousin brother. At a very young age, she is forced to live with her cousin and his family. Herein, begins a life of incessant harassment by her cousin brother.
Even as an adult she lives in the shadow of fear. For years, she changes addresses and identities in the hope of finding freedom; but each time he hunts her down. Neither the police, nor the NGOs are able to help her. Pushed to a corner, she decides to take the extreme step.
In an ambiguous space and time. The city has turned mad, as violence has taken its toll. But, far away in the sounds of silence at the border of the town, a man takes care of all the death around. He drags away this usual routine with every passing night.
One night, he notices a strange woman wandering on empty streets. As her behaviour changes, so does his journey.
Audacity directed by Anirban Roy
Starring Preeti Singh, Sankar Debnath and Kanchan Mullick
A thirteen-year-old girl has her first real confrontation with authority when her father forbids her to play the American dance music she loves. When she decides to take revenge, the situation escalates to become a neighbourhood scandal.
A dark comedy about parental authority, teenage rebellion, curry, whiskey, and house music.
"Epilogue" directed by Siddharth Gupta
Starring: Richa Chaddha and Arjun Shrivastav
A relationship that has already fallen apart and is just about to snap. It describes the love and intimacy, the entangling of two lives and the completely symbiotic nature of a couple.
It reflects the possessiveness control isolation, depression and desperation that a relationship can lead to, representing a cycle that needs to be broken to keep sane.
Lallan and Meena, a couple from Banaras, are consumed by their pursuit to survive in the city of Mumbai. Meena takes up a job in a sewing factory.
One day over a phone call, they find each other while embracing death, divorce and redemption. It takes the darkest hour of our life, the fear of death, to regain our consciousness back in to life. To find the beauty that is lost in our relentless angst towards an unyielding life.
Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave it 2.5 stars out of 5 and stated that the film is poignant and touching, with excellent performances.[12] Rediff gave the film 3 out of 5 stars.[13]Hindustan Times critic stated that Shorts is breathtaking to borderline bizarre[14] Mid-Day stated that Shorts is a unique experiment, which deserves an applause.[15] According to LiveMint critic, "Shorts is an omnibus of vignettes about urban living."[16] Deccan Chronicle rated it 4 out of 5 stars.[17]
