Screenwriter and lyricist Niranjan Iyenger has turned director with the short film Maa, which was released by Large Short Films on its YouTube channel on January 10. The 11-minute film stars Neena Kulkarni, Dino Morea and Vivaan Shah and poses the question: Are results the only way to define the right and wrong of a decision?
Morea and Shah play brothers while Kulkarni is their mother who has spent a considerable amount of time neglecting her children to focus on her career. The younger brother, played by Shah, has turned the wrong lane in life all the while nurturing his talent of painting. The older brother, played by Morea, who took care of his sibling while growing up, has figured out the safest way to keep matters under control. But the mother’s insistence on making a difference in her children’s lives leads to her taking a drastic step.
Maa is the first short film released by Large Short Films this year. In 2017, the channel released a series of acclaimed shorts, including Neeraj Ghaywan’s Juice, which won the Best Fiction Film award at the 2018 Filmfare Short Film Awards, Sujoy Ghosh’s Anukul, and Jyoti Kapur Das’ Chutney.