Two countries, 12 directors and short films under one initiative Zee Entertainment’s new venture Zeal For Unity brings together veteran filmmakers who will touch your heart through short and compelling stories. Sangeeta Yadav chats up with some of them about their tryst with this medium
Call it their passion for parallel films or love to make realistic cinema, filmmakers from India and Pakistan are taking to the short films as never before. Very seldom do we get to see veteran filmmakers like Ketan Mehta, Aparna Sen, Tignamshu Dhulia, Tanuja Chandra, Bejoy Nambiar and Pakistani directors like Mehreen Jabbar, Sabiha Sumar, Khalid Ahmed, Shahbaz Sumar, Siraj Ul Haq and Meenu Farjad come on board with their unique work. Yet another peace initiative by Zee Entertainment titled Zeal For Unity will showcase 12 short films by these directors propagating peace and unity.
Nikhil Advani, who is the man behind box office hits like Kal Ho Na Ho, Chandni Chowk to China, Salaam-e-Ishq etc, keeps a low profile. After having a successful opening in 2016 with Airlift, Advani has come up with a short film Guddu Ingiineer — 20-year-old Guddu finds his life close to perfect with his two loves of life — engineering and his love lady. But, there comes a point when he has to choose one. “It’s a love story with a very dark end. Hate is contagious and it’s very easy to spread hatred in the name of education, religion etc. But it’s very difficult to take the side of love and propagate the emotion. That’s what my film is about,” Advani says.
Known for making two-and-a-half-hour long feature films, Advani is experimenting with this format for the first time. “As a filmmaker, whether it’s a short film, documentary or full length film, we want to be known as production house that makes impactful content driven films. That’s what we are looking at,” Advani says.
Having bagged National Award in 2013 for his 3D animated film Delhi Safari, Advani will now be seen making an Indian adaptation of Homeland for Star Plus channel. “I’m doing a TV show which is an Indian adaptation of Hatufim, an Israeli series that was later adapted into Homeland. With Kargil in the backdrop it revolves around two Indian Army soldiers, home-bound after a war in Kargil,” Advani tells you.
The 64-year-old Ketan Mehta, who has penned stories for historic biopic movies like Sardar, Mangal Pandey, Rang Rasiya and Manjhi-The Mountain Man, brings out stories from Indian literature, gives a tweak to Toba Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto and brings it alive on celluloid. The story unfolds in one of the oldest mental asylums in undivided India, just before the partition.
“The story fascinated me since my college days. It is not only an incredible story but one of the finest works of Indian literature based on partition of India and Pakistan. The story stays with you once you’ve read it and every time you read it, it comes alive and resonates. It lingers and lasts over a period of time and captures your imagination,” Mehta says.
The seasoned filmmaker had a tough time convincing Pankaj Kapoor to play the lead role. “He was my first choice to play Bishan Singh. Though it took a lot of time to convince him, he has done great work and it is one of the finest performances on Indian TV. Once he accepted the role, he gave it all. I’ve introduced Saadat Hasan Manto as a narrator in the film which is beautifully played by Vinay Pathak,” two time National Award winner Mehta says. At the commercial front, Mehta is busy in finalising his upcoming movie Rani of Jhansi which will have Kangana Ranaut in the lead role.
After aeon of experience in the film industry as a writer with Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Zakhm or director of Dushman and Sangharsh, Tanuja Chandra has given us an eclectic mix of films in all genres. Her short film Silvat is based in the 90s where men from the lower middle class families used to go to Middle East for work, leaving their family behind.
“Silvat is the story of one such young wife Noor whose husband had gone there for work and she falls in love with her neighborhood tailor Alwar. It’s kind of a held back tragic love story. Silvat means crease or wrinkle on the cloth. In this young girl’s straightforward life Alwar causes crease of love,” Chandra says.
Sabiha Sumar, one of the acclaimed filmmakers of Pakistan who gave us a superhit film Khamosh Pani and also bagged an Oscar for Pakistan for her documentary film Saving Face, will showcasing her short film titled Chote Shah that reflects a strong bond between mother and son and the ancestral property issue.
“The film showcases the difficulties of leading a modern life, looking back at the past and not being able to move on. This universal value will make worldwide audience identify with the story. It’s about how a man overcomes all the challenges that life throws at him and how he is able to go on with dignity. My films are always about the strong characters that remind us of the resilience of human beings and how we deal with and make sense of our tragedy and find love and solace in our strength,” Sumar says.
Renowned Pakistani film and television director Siraj-Ul-Haque brings to you a short film titled Mohabbat Ki Aakhri Kahaani based on honour killing which is a burning issue in both the countries. “It’s the story of Jamal and Nigar, modern Romeo and Juliet played by Ahsan Khan and Saba Qamar. They grew up listening to the folklore love tales but were never accepted as lovers. For the first time, I’ve made a film on Sindhi folk tale Moomal Rano and used Sindhi songs and poetry,” Haque says.
For these filmmakers, unlike commercial cinema which has a lot of set rules to follow, making a short film is very fulfilling creatively. “It’s been pure art which is very rare. There is no compromise and commercialisation of anything. These kind of films aren’t made because there is so much pressure on commercial ventures to tick all the boxes of having a right hero and heroine, hit songs, scenic locations etc. For this short film, there was only one box which is to make a film from your heart. One has to be super creative and work very regressively and do the maximum you can in the given time and budget. Internationally short films are very highly respected and admired for their format because this is where you can truly experiment, break the rules and try new things,” Chandra explains.
Though India and Pakistan are the two countries now, but this has not restricted the artistic and creative sides of the two nations. “The directors and writers in Pakistan are high intellectual calibres. To have Pakistani directors is such an amazingly refreshing idea. I’ve always been a big believer in the fact that we were once a single nation. We are next to each other and we have to live with each other,” Chandra says.
Advani agrees adding, “As a country Pakistan has so many stories to tell and we can learn so much from the artists. I’m a great follower of sufi music culture. A few films that I have seen from Pakistani directors like Khamosh Pani, Khuda Ke liye etc have been very impactful. When I was younger, I used to watch Dhoop Kinare. Though I have not seen any new shows, I believe they are very good,” Advani says.