Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Zindagi Inshort is an anthology comprising of 7 short films in Hindi that has been produced by Sikhya Entertainment production company. The anthology was initially released on 19th February 2020 on Flipkart Video, and more recently, it was added to Netflix on 22nd February 2021. It is one of the Top 10 trending programs on the platform in India as of today.

This reception reinforces the growing acceptance and eagerness to consume short films. As it can be noticed from several recently released anthology works, most such projects generally revolve around a central theme, on which each of the films is based on. However, Zindagi Inshort is a little different. Even though they can be brought together under the ‘feel-good stories’ umbrella, the topics covered in the films are wide ranging.

The description on Netflix reads, “Complicated marriages, digital romances, domestic dilemmas and schoolyard bullies get the spotlight in these seven, slice-of-life short films.” Running between 11-22 minutes, the films deescalate many “complicated” life experiences, and do so in quite interesting ways, either by displacing power between characters or by adding a humourous tint.

Picture Credit: Firstpost

In Tahira Kashyap’s “Pinni” Neeta Gupta plays a woman who is only visible (or not) when her labour is needed. Instead of walking away from it, she turns it around in one swift move. So does Divya Dutta’s character in “Sleeping Partner” where Punarvasu Naik touches upon desire and marital rape.

Rakesh Sain’s “Nano se Phobia” deals with loneliness and fears that older people encounter. “Swaaha” is Smrutika Panigrahi’s weird and funny take on how a couple deals with infidelity in the middle of a wedding reception. While Vinay Chhawal’s “Thappad” is a really sweet tale of a little boy helping his elder sister fight bullies.

“Chhaju Ke Dahi Bhalle” is the quintessential (yet very realistic) ‘cute love story’, a familiar trope in YouTube sketches, and has been directed by Gautam Govind Sharma. Finally, there is Vijayeta Kumar’s “Sunny Side Upar”, a wholesome ride of emotions, weaving together work-life imbalance, the fear of losing loved ones, and more. It is best to save it for the last of the seven films.

The directors with producer Guneet Monga (standing; third from left) Picture Credit: The Times of India

The films’ cast also include Aisha Ahmed, Bijou Thaangjam, Deepak Dobriyal, Isha Talwar, Manjot Singh, Nakuul Mehta, Rima Kallingal, Rytasha Rathore, Sanjay Kapoor, Shafin Patel, Shishir Sharma, Swaroop Sampat and Vedika Nawani.

Flipkart Video is an online video streaming platform which is available for free consumption on the Flipkart App. Launched in 2019, the platform has partnered with and offers content from a number of other OTT platforms such as Arre, Pocket Aces’ Dice Media, TVF, Viu, and Voot. It has a few Original shows as well, including Zindagi Inshort.