Nitin Baid, who has edited memorable films like Raazi (2018), Gully Boy (2019), 83 (2021), Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), Sam Bahadur (2023) etc., turned director with the short film Chashma. Its screenplay and dialogues are by Varun Grover and is about a school boy in 1992 who suffers from poor vision. The way Nitin has managed to seamlessly incorporate India's rising sociopolitical tensions in the tale is praiseworthy. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Nitin Baid and Varun Grover spoke about Chashma, the short films market and a lot more.
How did you get this idea of having a film called Chashma and then making it a metaphor for the religious prejudice that exists in society? Nitin Baid: The idea came from my personal experiences during my school days in Kolkata. I, myself, had myopia and I couldn’t see the blackboard from a distance. For a long time, I would take the help of my friend. It stayed with me as I was scared to wear spectacles. In the 90s, bullying was on a different level than it is now. Now, it's common to see many kids wearing specs when they are 3 or 4 years old. But then, it wasn’t the norm and it was the first physical change that you experienced. I used to always wonder what would happen if I am believed to have witnessed something that I haven’t (due to my poor version) and am asked about it. That’s where it stemmed from.
Varun, how did you get involved with Chashma? Varun Grover: I was involved before Nitin had started writing as I wanted to work with him. We had worked earlier on multiple projects but this was special as it was his directorial debut. While he was editing my first short film Kiss, he expressed the desire to make a short film. This was in 2021. The story he narrated seemed very personal and also, the arc and the narrative were clear in his mind already. So, I wrote a draft. Then we went back and forth to align with Nitin’s vision. What I liked about it even then was that it was a personal take on something which we really don’t talk about.
How did Konkona Sen Sharma come on board? Also, she’s even credited as the executive producer… Nitin Baid: I have known Konkona for a long time. I had even seen the edit of her debut film. But I was not sure if Konkona would be excited about the project as though it’s an important role, it’s not the primary character. Also, with her acting stature and who has done so much work, I was unsure if she would like to attempt a short film in this certain space. When I sent her the script, I made it clear that I was not sure if the role was big enough for her and added that if she came on board, it would add a lot of soul to the film.
Fortunately, she liked the script and she’s also a big fan of Varun’s writing. But we didn’t have a lot of budget. Hence, we requested her to have some sort of association. That’s when we asked her if she would like to be one of the executive producers. She agreed. In short, she came on board for the love of the script. She didn’t charge anything and instead, she invested time and effort. Even today, she tries to come for the screening of the film or promote it in any way possible which is huge for an actor-director who’s constantly busy. So yeah, she was not the executive producer in the true sense of the term.
What do you have to say about the short film market in India right now? Is recovery possible for short filmmakers? Varun Grover: I made Kiss in 2021 and in 2022, it went to festivals. This year, it has been invited to the Rotterdam Festival. However, it has still not been released. Also, short films made by Anurag Kashyap, who has a huge following, are also in the same boat. To answer your question, it’s very difficult to recover the cost. But then what do you mean by recovery also matters. If you mean recovering the money, then maybe that’s not possible but then a short film is beneficial for everyone involved in some way or the other. Actors, producers, directors, writers – we all do it for the joy of filmmaking. There’s no one telling us what to do in a short film. There are no market demands, no pressure from music companies etc. These factors are generally involved in feature films, including indie movies. That’s why we work on short films without any fees. Even if you don’t recover the money, the producers also get the experience and they get to work with people whom they want to collaborate with on long terms.
In my personal observation, I don’t see that many short films on various digital platforms. Is that true and if yes, why is that so? Nitin Baid: Well, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Juice is playing on Amazon right now. Jio Cinema also has many short films. All this is cyclic. Sometimes, when an outlet opens, they buy a lot of short films. Just a few days ago, Neeraj told me about Juice being on Amazon. MX Player bought it; earlier, it was on YouTube.
Hence, if a film is good, it finds its audience. YouTube is the most democratic place. I have even heard of people making money via YouTube views. Of course, as it happens with feature films, short films are also difficult to sell. But I feel that there’s no proper avenue and I hope things improve as short film is the purest art form of filmmaking because there’s no commercial pressure to make the film in a certain way. On the positive side, 10 years ago, we didn’t have a lot of places to show short films. Now, at least, you have YouTube and other avenues for screening.
Varun Grover: The good thing about India is that there are so many people (laughs). So, ideally, there's a market for everything. It’s just a question of who taps into it. So, if you apply common sense, then there should be a market and platform for short films. The short films of Royal Stag Select, for instance, have huge viewership. Hence, it's not like people are not watching short films. But this brand realized how to make it commercially viable. If more such brands come in and figure out a way forward, it’ll make a lot of difference for the short films. Right now, no one is prioritizing it simply because it’s a blind spot. The idea is to find a way to bring it to people. Sometimes, the hype around Cannes helps, as it happened with All We Imagine As Light. On the other hand, Masaan didn’t run in cinemas at that time but now it is getting good viewership on OTT. We still get messages for it. In short, there are ways of improving the short film market. Either someone has to find that way dedicatedly or else, filmmakers would have to wait for random luck.
You just mentioned Masaan and All We Imagine As Light. At one point, such niche films were frequently released in cinemas. Now, it is seen that only mass-appealing movies get a released in theatres. Do you feel nowadays, we lack variety, which was not the case in the pre-pandemic era? Nitin Baid: There was a boom with OTT platforms coming in. The monies have dried up and hence, things are not easy to get made, even for an indie film. Very selected few films like Girls Will Be Girls or All We Imagine As Light get the avenues as they travelled festivals and left a mark.
But variety is there. It’s the accessibility to the variety which may be a problem. Like you can watch small films only at festivals. But that was always there. Now the theatrical game has become different. Also, let’s not forget that a lot has changed in the post-pandemic era. Its reeling effects will settle down somewhere. Moreover, we are fighting not just against films. We are fighting against Reels, we are fighting against a lot of other mixed media content as well. Hopefully, the balance will be achieved and even then, thoda sa upar neeche rahega hi. There’s never been and never will be a perfect time.
Varun, it's your birthday on the Republic Day, January 26. What are your plans? Nitin: (Laughs) The whole country will celebrate his birthday! Varun: (Smiles) I switch off my phone on my birthday as I get flooded with messages. I prefer to have a quiet day. I am thinking of stepping out of Mumbai and eating good food. The latter is my agenda for 365 days a year actually!
Also Read: Konkona Sen Sharma joins International film Mis(s)Chief alongside Carlos Bardem, selected for 2025 sundance labs
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