The norm for releasing short films is to avoid the multiplex and head straight for the internet, where they can be viewed for free. The last time a set of short films, simply titled Shorts, reached in the cinemas, it didn't exactly set the screen on fire. Yet here is Chaar Cutting, a package of four films presented by the online film website Jamuura and Celebstall that will open in cinemas this week. The set comprises Blouse, Skin Deep, Manila and Bawdi, which are mostly unrelated except if you consider how the “cutting” theme has been explored by three of the four titles.
In Vijayeta Kumar’s Blouse, a school teacher resolves to get his wife a new top that will be made by the best-known tailor in town. But he forgets to take along a sample blouse, leading to a series of comic events.
Anuj Gulati’s Manila Running follows a tourist who finds out the hard way that getting a nose job in the Philippines capital is easier said than done. In Hardik Mehta’s Skin Deep, the idea of cutting takes on several dimensions, including a character named Sanjay Gandhi, circumcision and a power outage that proves life-altering.
Vivek Soni’s Bawdi is set in Rajasthan, like Blouse, and explores the impact of drought and a severe water shortage on a young couple in love.
“There’s no commonality between the four films, but if there is a theme, it is that the films are all about the last resort, which was the package’s original title,” said Munish Tewari, Jamuura’s founder. This the first theatrical release for Jamuura, which usually hosts short films on its website. “When we started the company four years, the idea was to work closely with indie filmmakers and help them make a mark in the world of cinema,” Tewari said. “One of the things that came up was that everybody wanted their films to be released in theatres. Short films do release on the internet, but the filmmakers wanted a larger platform.”
The films will be screen under the PVR Director's Rare initiative.
The best place to watch shorts is the internet, where scores of such films are posted by individual filmmakers or through such platforms as Terribly Tiny Talkies, run by the people behind the Twitter feed Terribly Tiny Tales. On One Small Window, Mumbai filmmakers Elvis and Sonal D’Silva hand-pick shorts from around the world every week. Jamuura has a section on its site called Jamuura TV, which has films from India and elsewhere.
“Jamuura has even hosted a short film festival, but they have never come into the cinemas,” said Blouse’s producer Ranjan Singh. “The idea of releasing the films in cinemas is to find a model that works. After the theatrical release, the idea is to put the films out on DVD and also try for television.”
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In Vijayeta Kumar’s Blouse, a school teacher resolves to get his wife a new top that will be made by the best-known tailor in town. But he forgets to take along a sample blouse, leading to a series of comic events.
Anuj Gulati’s Manila Running follows a tourist who finds out the hard way that getting a nose job in the Philippines capital is easier said than done. In Hardik Mehta’s Skin Deep, the idea of cutting takes on several dimensions, including a character named Sanjay Gandhi, circumcision and a power outage that proves life-altering.
Vivek Soni’s Bawdi is set in Rajasthan, like Blouse, and explores the impact of drought and a severe water shortage on a young couple in love.
“There’s no commonality between the four films, but if there is a theme, it is that the films are all about the last resort, which was the package’s original title,” said Munish Tewari, Jamuura’s founder. This the first theatrical release for Jamuura, which usually hosts short films on its website. “When we started the company four years, the idea was to work closely with indie filmmakers and help them make a mark in the world of cinema,” Tewari said. “One of the things that came up was that everybody wanted their films to be released in theatres. Short films do release on the internet, but the filmmakers wanted a larger platform.”
The films will be screen under the PVR Director's Rare initiative.
The best place to watch shorts is the internet, where scores of such films are posted by individual filmmakers or through such platforms as Terribly Tiny Talkies, run by the people behind the Twitter feed Terribly Tiny Tales. On One Small Window, Mumbai filmmakers Elvis and Sonal D’Silva hand-pick shorts from around the world every week. Jamuura has a section on its site called Jamuura TV, which has films from India and elsewhere.
“Jamuura has even hosted a short film festival, but they have never come into the cinemas,” said Blouse’s producer Ranjan Singh. “The idea of releasing the films in cinemas is to find a model that works. After the theatrical release, the idea is to put the films out on DVD and also try for television.”
