1) HIJRAT
SYNOPSIS
The story of HIJRAT is told from the perspective of a refugee Sirajuddin, who is one of the victims of the exodus of more than a million inhabitants on the either sides of the Radcliffe Line drawn by the colonial masters to vertically divide their colony on communal lines as India and Pakistan. This exodus was the first of its kind in the history of mankind. His daughter Sakina is lost while they migrate from India to Pakistan after division of the country. Like other refugees bound to settle in this newly carved state, he is also amongst other refugees in a refugee camp somewhere close to the city of Lahore. He goes berserk in a fit of fury and starts searching her amongst other refugees in the refugee camp and around. He finds no one to help him out. People out there suggest him to go to the officers for help. He goes to Refugee Assistance Office But he is treated badly there too and has to retreat. He goes into flash back where he sees himself sitting beside his wife Salma. Her body is riddled with wounds while she was attacked by some rioters. Salma insists him to accompany their daughter to some safer place and not to worry about her as Salma is severely wounded and would die soon. Succumbing to her injuries Salma dies. Sensing imminent threat on their lives, they have to run from there. Meanwhile his daughter is lost in transit. In the refugee camp some refugees suggest him to see the volunteers who, they suppose are engaged to rescue refugees in distress. Volunteers in the refugee camp promise him to help him find his daughter. Volunteers start searching for her all across countryside. On the other side Sakina is wandering in the countryside and is very dejected due to loss of her family. One day the volunteers spot her on a road. Volunteers make her accompany them to some undisclosed place. She is being repeatedly raped by some ‘unidentified men’. Every time she is ordered by different rapists in a screaming voice, ‘unstring your trousers’(Khol Do), she unstrings her trousers. The very words get imprinted on her mind in such a manner that Sakina unstrings her trousers on listening to the words “Khol Do” as if she were mechanized, customized and tuned to unstring her trousers as and when she listens to these word. One day in the refugee camp Sirajuddin spots the volunteers sitting in the lorry. They are about to leave the camp, he hurriedly rushes towards them. They don’t face him and try to evade his query and drive away their lorry. Despite their lukewarm response, he still prays for the well-being of the volunteers. A few days later Sirajuddin sees some activity near the camp. Some people are carrying a girl to hospital near the camp. He follows that crowd. He cruises through the crowd and enters the hospital room. He recognizes her. He stands beside the stretcher in the hospital room. The room is semi-lit and no proper light is coming in it. Doctor looks around and finds that the light is improper to conduct medical examination. He asks the nurse what to do to lighten up the room. She points to the window nearby. Doctor asks her to unstring the widow and yells, “Khol Do” .The voice of doctor echoes. Nurse unstrings the window, the light spreads in the room. Sakina responds to the voice of the doctor saying ”Khol Do”. As she is psychologically mechanized, customized and tuned to unstring her trousers listening to the words “Khol Do”,her hands grope for her trousers, she unstrings her trousers expecting to be raped again. The doctor and the nurse are stunned to witness her activity. Sirajuddin screams and sinks in shame.
IndiaUrduGurmeet Brar00:39:57
2) SHUNYATA (THE VOID)
SYNOPSIS
Madhur works as a hitman for a gang in Mumbai. He leads a bleak existence and a life full of regrets. He is friendly with a kid who lives on the street. Madhur sees this kid getting into crime and decides to intervene to give the kid a chance he never had.
IndiaHindiChintan Sarda00:22:10
3) RAINCOAT FOR EVERYONE
This short Film is set in a midtown, during Local election period.Story of unfulfilled commitments made to public, where few some take it to their heart and become a vehicle of a bigger change in society regardless of their personal capacity. Rain is playing different shades of its nature Raincoat is like a safety, security & shelter for a common man A Political satire not just as a remark but as a solution.
IndiaMarathiAshish Maurya00:18:09
4) THIRUVITHAMCORE
SYNOPSIS
The director of the short film, Thirivithamcore, tries to narrate an incident in the life of Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the first king of erstwhile Travancore during mid of 17th century. The King faces constant warfare, both inside and outside his territory during his regime. The period in the short film refers to his hiding term to save his life from threat posed by his enemies and he takes refuge in the hollow of a jackfruit tree under the guidance of a cattle boy. The cattle boy is none other than Lord Krishna who motivates the prince to fight against opponents which includes his own cousins.
IndiaMalayalamJayakumar00:19:20
5) PUNYATITHI
SYNOPSIS
Ancient world didn’t have boundaries of states, caste, religions, position or nations. But the history of World tells us that the powerful have always ruled the oppressed, the weak and the outnumbered. Today the play of power is happening in the name of caste, culture, religion, nation and social position, keeping humanity at bay. This story dates back to 6 December 1992, a small town of Ayodhya became the national headline. Whole country rather the whole world witnessed the breakdown of “Babri Masjid”. In our story, we see how this one incident completely changed the life of a man and a family. A 60 years old man Sarfaraaz Khan is a teacher in a “Madarsa”, spreading wisdom and love to the children who are not his. He now lives in Faizabaad with his wife Nagma . They both are living under the pain and burden of an incident that happened 26 years back. The incident that changed their lives forever. Every year on 6 December they are seen walking the by lanes of Ayodhya, heading towards their old house, where the living tombstone of their life the buried. 6th December 1992, Sarfaraaz is a charismatic young man, who lives happily with wife Nagma and a 6-year-old daughter “Alifia”. He is handsomely employed. A beautiful family of three. When the care takers of religion and political meanness joined hands, the repercussions are faced by ordinary humans. As the Hindu extremists started breaking down the Babri Masjid, atmosphere of terror was created for the Muslims. At that time, you could not see even a single Muslim walking on the roads of Ayodhya. In this critical situation Sarfaraaz along with wife and daughter is captured in his own house, which is no more a safe place. His numerous failed attempts of trying to escape with family and move to a safer place leave make him more anxious. During one such attempt to escape, he and his family were maltreated by the crowd. After suffering he finally decides to kill his family and eventually himself too. This was the most difficult decision he ever took after all, how can anybody see their daughter and wife left at the fate of an extremist mob. The moment Sarfaraaz slits his daughter’s throat and is about to kill his wife, a family friend Janak breaking the door enters the house and tells him that there is a way they can escape. Now Sarfaraaz gathers some consciousness and on seeing his dead daughter he wants to kill himself but Janak stops him. Before leaving the house Sarfaraaz and Janak bury Alifia in that very house. Now every year Sarfaraaz comes to the house, at the tombstone of daughter, pleading for pardon and praying for his own death.
IndiaHindiRAJNISH BABA MEHTA00:47:17
6) THE DRAINAGE
SYNOPSIS
A poet once answered the question ” Tell me how many elements are important in communication?” in this way. He said ” The one which is absent is the most important of all”. When two men are walking besides each other and one of them is busy in his phone, he gets so absorbed in the phone that he gets left behind. We all are those that have been left behind. We have various mediums to communicate to the other, but we don’t know who do we want to communicate to? The mobile phone has become an extention of our body. Today networking has become very easy but unfortunately personal interaction is being compromised. It has come down to exchange of messages. The mobile has a parallel universe where each human behaves like he has been deserted on an inhuman island. He forgets that there is any life around. Ambadas, the protagonist of this short film is a labourer in a farm. His new smartphone falls in a dry drainage. For the next 24 hours he struggles to rescue his phone. Using the phone, the story touches upon the subtle changes in the society. Finally Ambadas enters the drainage from a different place. When inside, he realises how lonely is he in this populated world. The lid is shut from where he enetered the drainage and he gets trapped inside, but would be be free even if he got out from there?
IndiaMarathiVikrant Ramdas Badarkhe00:15:00
7) PROBABLY
SYNOPSIS
The government is acquiring thousands of hectares of farmland to build a highway. Farmers are questioning the need. Most are agitating quietly, but some are threatening to commit suicide. This is the story of a farmer, Vinoba, who decides to take an extreme action, but not take his own life. There is a rebellion brewing in his subconscious. Will it come to the fore?
IndiaMarathiGaurav Madan00:23:30
8) AUTUMN LEAF
SYNOPSIS
This film is a socio-political drama. It revolves around a student’s quest to find a mysterious poet named Ik Man. As the film progresses, we delve deeper into the deeply troubled lives of the characters and also come face to face with the harsh realities of the times they live in.
IndiaEnglish, HindiKshitij Kumar Pandey00:19:37
9) SPOTLESS
SYNOPSIS
The story revolves around the emotional struggle of an acid attack victim Aditi and her husband Varun. While on one hand Aditi tries to let go of her past and come to terms with the ugly reality, her husband Varun doesn’t accept the physical change in his wife. Somewhere in the core of his existence ,Varun is filled with angst for the man who has turned their lives upside down.
IndiaEnglish, HindiSaurabh Pandey00:09:10
10) MEHRAM
SYNOPSIS
Under the Saudi Arabian laws, women without a ‘Mehram’ (a male blood relative) are forbidden to perform the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. This film is the extraordinary story of Aamna (played by Farida Jalal) who decides to struggle against the patriarchal system to claim her right to perform the Hajj. Will she be able to succeed in her struggle? Packed with powerful performances by veteran actors like Rajit Kapoor and Sushma Seth, the film is a portrayal of Aamna’s journey.
IndiaHindi, UrduZain Anwar00:32:04
11) SAARI RAAT
SYNOPSIS
Short film based on a story by the eminent Hindi author Kamtanath, “Saari Raat” is a conversation between a couple on the second night of their wedding when at the groom’s behest they decide to honestly exchange confidences. What follows via the mountain-made-out-of-a-molehill situation is an affectionate satire on the chauvinism latently present in every male and an endearing portrait of a young, middle class, small town Indian mentality.
IndiaHindiParimal Aloke00:22:00
12) THE DEMON
SYNOPSIS
A serial killer is preying on two to three month old babies all across West Bengal. There already have been seven abductions and murders, but the police has done very little progress on making an arrest. Homicide Unit’s senior most detective Pablo Bose, who is leading the investigation, had spent sleepless nights working in this case but in vain. So much so that he had been severely neglecting his wife and has remained oblivious of his almost broken marriage.
IndiaBengali, EnglishTathagata Ghosh00:27:48
13) A LITTLE PAUSE
SYNOPSIS
Seen through the prism of a 13 year old child’s struggle and emotions imposed on her because of her parents Divorce. She recalls her sad and lonely moments with lots of unanswered questions in her mind as she grows older. She discovers that life is not fair and you have no choice but to move on with or without the way you want your life to be.
IndiaHindiAyesha Julka00:20:42
14) BHUK
SYNOPSIS
Bhuk is one night story of a mother and child (shaku and govinda) duo living in the rural area who are starving themselves because of poverty and are looking for food to meet their hunger.
IndiaMarathiVaibhav Dange00:11:55
15) D.A.T.E
SYNOPSIS
An older lady’s first job interview and what happens thereafter. A house wife all her life gives herself a chance to work and goes for a job appointment in her son’s company.
IndiaHindiSai Deodhar Anand00:13:10
16) CHAABII (ENGLISH TITLE: KEY)
SYNOPSIS
…the night never sleeps… And when it does, its all dark, its all silent… And the doors shall remain closed! What if, in this stillness of the night, someone knocks at your door and asks for help?
IndiaHindiKishlay Singhai00:13:36
17) CHUMBAK (MAGNET)
SYNOPSIS
Faced with difficult choices, people sometimes act in an unpredictable and a bizarre way to find the right solution.
IndiaHindiPrabhakar ‘Meena Bhaskar’ Pant00:09:56
18) MR CRAZY – BAAWRA
SYNOPSIS
Mumbai based Rahul, in his 20s, is lonely and wants to fall in love. One day he gets a friend request from a mysterious girl from Pune and both get talking. In no time he falls for this girl who hasn’t even uploaded her display picture and refuses to share her contact number. Rahul however manages to find her address and sets out to meet her, not realising that it might prove to be the biggest folly of his life.
IndiaHindiFenil Seta00:28:37
19) PRAWNS
SYNOPSIS
Its about up & downs between relationship of Father & Son and how some situations change the father’s prospective about education.
IndiaMarathiSwapnil Shetye00:15:51
20) THE-REBELL
SYNOPSIS
A star crossed love lorn girl decides to commit suicide by declaring her decision online on facebook. The FB status reveals the various and weird thoughts of the society and her friends which makes her wonder what is right. In this adventure she gets connected with a stranger who makes her understand the value of life and helps her give up the decision to commit suicide.
IndiaEnglishRiju Bajaj0:49:44
21) BLACK BRIEFCASE
SYNOPSIS
A man with a mission to blast the city is on his way with the Black Briefcase in his hand , determined and tensed at the same time he plants the bomb when haunting scream from his conscience jolts him but it’s too late …
City is in shatters…
IndiaHindi, Englishkirti Singh0:17:00
