Two’s Company

Dua, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, will showcase the film at the 36th edition of the  Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France — considered among the most renowned festivals for short films.

The only Indian film to be screened at the festival, which will be held from January 31 to February 8, Chidiya Udh portrays the feeling of alienation many big city dwellers feel. The 29-year-old’s FTII diploma film was earlier screened at the International Festival of Moving Image Art, Bangalore, and opened to positive reviews.

“The film is about something most of us have experienced. It is that gnawing feeling of being invisible, as the city and everything in it zooms past us in a frenzy. In the film, the protagonists give each other strength to escape from their dismal reality while nameless chickens continue to feed the city slaughterhouses,” says Dua.

The script has been inspired by his personal experiences in some ways. A Delhiite, Dua did not have the faintest idea of working with films till he got through FTII. “My father runs a business and my mother is a mathematics teacher. Films and a career in films were far removed from our lives,” he says.

Filmed in and around Pune, Chidiya Udh has been shot on a 35mm film camera, making Dua one of the last students from the institute to use the traditional equipment. “I wanted a raw, realistic look for the film,” he says.

Ask him about the challenges he faced while making the film, and Dua replies after a pause, “Rain,” he says, “The incessant rain in Pune was one of the biggest challenges we faced during the filming. But when we saw the result on the editing table, we were taken aback by the whole ‘effect’ we had achieved because of the rains. So, I guess it was a blessing in disguise.”

There were other setbacks. The cinematographer passed away in an accident just after the film shoot was completed. “Sushant Arora’s death was a blow to us. The film took on a different meaning after that incident,” he says.

Chidiya Udh’s editing has been done by Shweta Rai, sound by Gautam Nair, art direction by Bhaskar Gupta and cinematography by Sushant Arora.

The film, starring Sanghamitra Hitaishi, Yash Nimse and Vijay Shukla in the lead roles, has been written and directed by Dua and produced by FTII.

Dua is working as an associate director for Ruchika Oberoi’s Island City produced by the National Film Development Corporation. Scheduled to be completed later this year, the film stars actors Vinay Pathak and Samir Kocchar.