Short films are a great medium to explore different kinds of characters: Sayani Gupta

Mala is a story of a girl called Mala who’s dream is to become a filmmaker opposed to that of her family which is to get her married at the earliest. She makes her way to Mumbai for the film festival after lying to her family, only to discover a new journey.

Sayani, who was last seen in Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan, was very ecstatic on winning the Best Actress Award for the second time for a short film after Leeches and feels that short films are a great medium to explore different kinds of characters unlike in feature films.

“It feels great! Leeches, my other short has been winning in various film festivals across the globe and now this one. Short films are a great medium I feel and one gets to explore different kinds of characters unlike in feature films. There is more scope for experimentation. ‘Mala’ was a film that is set with MAMI as the backdrop and how a film festival can change someone’s life. The character of Mala is a cinema fanatic, a girl who dreams if becoming a film maker one day and meets power house women at Mami like Kiran Rao, Anupama Chopra, Kalki etc and gets inspired to follow her passion and dream. She also gets influenced by the fantastic films she watches at the festival like Malala and gets inspired by the incredible story of this special child. It’s always meaningful to be part of films that’s telling a genuine story and I always subconsciously get attracted to stories that are about emancipation. The need of the hour, isn’t it? And as an actor / film maker, we must tell stories that make a difference. I, myself attend the Mami every year and to do this film for them was very exciting,” Sayani said.