Short film series wins records

Actor Aniruddha Jatkar now holds four records each in the Asia and India book of records for his short film series.

“I am really proud to have achieved this. I am glad that I have been able to make a mark in the Asia Book of Records considering how huge the Asian continent is,” he says.

The film series has six short-films (not more than six minutes in duration) - ‘Smoke’, ‘Shantam Papam’, ‘Save’, ‘Vaishnava Janato’, ‘Water’ and ‘Candlelight’. The series, both written and directed by Aniruddha, talks about social issues.

“My family is immersed in social work, so it is inevitable that I base my movies on social issues,” he notes the reason.

“I wanted to showcase both entertainment and important topics,” he adds.

When asked about how the project came about, he shares that it was the students of a short-filmmaking course ( that he organised ) who urged him to work on a film based on repercussions of smoking. “I heard about an incident where a person lost his life to smoking. And, I decided to take up passive smoking as my subject as it isn’t talked about much. That’s how ‘Smoke’ was made,” he adds.

The outcome of ‘Smoke’ was inspiration enough for Aniruddh to work on the series engulfing social issues.

Another highlight of the series is that each film is conceptualized in different genres. “Lot of things happened without planning, and it just clicked; it is the Almighty’s blessings. I never thought I would gain so much out of this,” the actor says.

Also, they are silent movies. “Silence also speaks,” he states.

The shooting, he says, didn’t take much time, but post-production took about five months. The series was released on September 18 on the occasion of actor Vishnuvardhan’s birth anniversary. He explains, “I saw it is an opportunity to dedicate my work to the legend.”

Aniruddha, who has acted in many movies, says that it is testing to wear the director’s hat. He further adds, “It is really challenging, but I enjoyed the process. Being a student of cinema, I try to learn and do my homework before taking up any project.”

The actor also thanks his family for being his pillar of strength, “They pushed me to work on this project. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support and encouragement,” he notes.

Aniruddha has a lot in his kitty. Currently, he is working on a documentary and book based on actor Bharathi Vishnuvardhan’s life. He reveals that he is done writing scripts for two other feature films, which he will direct and act in.

“I believe in working hard with passion. I hope it turns fruitful one day,” he signs off.