By Alok Joshi
On the concluding day of Waves International Short Film Festival, I had the privilege to watch a few films. The beauty of short films is that they convey deep insights and varied perspectives within a few minutes. They provoke us to think deeply and appreciate a different viewpoint of life and its ups and downs.
Two films stood out for me and made my day. ‘The Last Meal’ and ‘Misty’. I also liked Nazariya, which portrays a father’s concern for his young daughter (who wants to break free and enjoy some moments with her friends at night) and ultimately her realisation through a simple security guard’s perspective played admirably by Sanjay Mishra.
The Last Meal, a 28-minute film directed by Ketkee Pande, is a power-house of content, direction and acting. It deals with the sensitive topic of untouchability in the pre-independence era through the story of revolutionary Bhagat Singh and the freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh insists on having his last meal prepared by Bhoga, a sweeper at the Lahore jail. When, finally, the unwilling Bhoga bows down to his wish and returns with sarson ka saag and makki ki roti prepared by his wife, he is devastated to find that the ruthless British authorities executed him one day in advance. It is a gripping story that most of us have never heard of. The role of Bhoga, played by Ishtiaq Khan, will give you goosebumps. He gets deep into the skin of the role and stirs up dormant emotions. There were no surprises for the best actor award at the closing ceremony. It was Ishtiaq Khan all the way.
The other film, Misty, all of 23 minutes, directed by Raja Chatterjee stirs different kinds of emotions. It captures the story of conflict between the alter-ego and feelings between two protagonists. It is a sweet love story that may be unusual in this age where young people choose and decide relationships with a swipe of their fingers on the screen. It is the story of a young couple who rediscover their internal and external self over a period of time. They find the truth walking through the already drawn paths of their respective lives. They realise how their ego, ambition and race in life had distanced them from the celestial beauties and charm of a nascent heart only by paying a heavy price of a lifetime. The pride of egoistic youth keeps them apart in their lonely journey of life until they make one last attempt to accept the truth. It is only after chasing wasteful materialistic dreams do they reach the beauty of communion.
Misty is special to me for two reasons. One, the lead role is admirably played by my friend Satish Sharma, who had invited me for the shooting, and I felt a part of the team. For once I realised that a tremendous amount of hard work goes into making even a short film. Secondly, I had a surprise debut cameo role in the film sharing screen space with Avantika Shetty, the lead actress. Radhika Joshi as younger Shika and Nitish Rawat as younger Ziba are promising actors.
I must make special mention of the Graphic Era team which organised this festival in their beautiful premises. What impressed me most was that the students and staff of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department, backed by their top management, shouldered all the responsibilities and made it a grand success.
I would urge everybody to spare a few minutes away from the noise and din of political news and enjoy these beautiful short films.
Alok Joshi is former Director (HR & Marketing) PetroChina (CNPC); Head HRD, GNPOC, Sudan; Head HR, Mumbai High Asset, ONGC; Civil Services probationer; author of three books plus over a hundred published articles to his credit.)
