IN SHORT

Mumbai Cutting will release by January-end,and Mirch,where four short films are bound by a larger fifth,before June.

That commercially,short films are a tad difficult to sell in India is proven by the fact that though Mumbai Cutting has done well at various film festivals,it is yet to release in cinemas. Add to that the fact that White Feather Films’ attempt at it with Dus Kahaniyaan failed miserably despite the project having roped in big names.

When Niyati Shah,a first-time producer,decided to make Mumbai Cutting,she was aware of the challenges it might offer but went ahead because she felt that to make an impact in her debut venture would require her to do something drastically different. “Dus Kahaniyaan failed because the Indian audience is not used to open-ended stories—we are naturally inquisitive and always want to know “the whole story”. So my brief to my directors was that every story should have a definite beginning and end.”

Shekhar Kapur,however,doesn’t take this comment lightly. “Filmmaking is an art and the audience should be allowed to seek their own story through the experience,” says the Indian filmmaker who has directed a segment for the Hollywood short film series New York,I Love You.

The director of Mirch,Vinay Shukla,shares Kapur’s sentiment: “Short films is like a poem whereas a feature film could be equated to prose.” But he sympathises with Niyati’s sentiment as a producer and feels that it isn’t time yet to take the route of open ended films in India.

If one looks at the various short film series,one thread that runs common through most,

including that critically acclaimed Paris Je T’aime is the illustrious cast and crew that they usually bring together for such projects. The prestigious project had celebrated filmmakers like Christopher Doyle and Alexander Payne; New York,I Love You features directors like Fatih Akin,Natalie Portman and Kapur to direct a cast that includes Julie Christie,Orlando Bloom and Shia LaBeouf among others. Closer home,Mirch starrs Konkana Sen Sharma and Boman Irani.

Director Kundan Shah explains the phenomenon through the fact that because of the duration of the film,it presses on the audience’s attention as each segment requires them to start all over again. “Therefore,often,to make the project commercially viable,filmmakers rope in renowned names,” observes the veteran who has directed a silent short,Hero,starring character actor Deepak Dobriyal for Mumbai Cutting.

In Shukla’s opinion,contrary to popular belief,making shorts is not “best left to experienced filmmakers”. “In fact,some of the best short films come from filmmaking students who do it as a part of their course and many of these,though unknown to most of us,become popular in the festival circuits. But for these to enter the mainstream,like any other feature film,they have to be packaged well.”