Short film shot in Akola village makes it big

Nagpur: Khisa (pocket), a Marathi short film shot in Amantpur village of Akola district with local artistes, has qualified to compete for the prestigious Golden Star Awards at the annual live screening gala of Istanbul Film Awards (IFA), which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in March.

Khisa is also an official selection in Indian Panorama for 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa 2020, scheduled from January 16-24.

Raj Pritam More, director and co-producer of this film who also hails from Akola, said that the 16-minute film has won Best Screenplay award at 10th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, New Delhi, in 2020 and many other awards on prestigious platforms.

“It’s my debut short film and I am happy to have shot it entirely in my home district,” said More.

The film was shot at real life locations like District and Zilla Parishad Marathi Varishtha Prathmik Shala in Amantpur, and a masjid in Balapur. “Viewers and juries have admired the locations. I am planning to shoot my next full-length movie in Vidarbha again. We will highlight Vidarbha’s local language, nuances and lifestyle to establish this way of life, like the North Indian lifestyle is established in Bollywood,” said More, who is an award-winning artiste from Lalit Kala Academy, Pune.

Khisa is a story of a young boy who lives in a remote village in Maharashtra. He decides to get a large pocket stitched for his school shirt, in which he keeps all his precious belongings — petals, coins, marble balls. He is proud of the pocket.

But the little boy does not understand the politics of symbolism that adults engage in, and his pocket soon becomes a bone of contention between elders in the village. This coming-of-age story and tragic tale of the loss of innocence is ironically symbolic of the times we live in.

Written by Kailash Waghmare, the film is produced by More and Santosh Maithani who also edited it. Simarjit Singh Suman is director of photography while Parijat Chakraborty has handled the music. Kushal Sarda has recorded sounds.

Kailash Waghmare, Meenakshi Rathod, Shruti Madhydeep, Dr Sheshpal Ganvir and child artiste Vedant Shrisagar have played main characters. All of them are from Vidarbha.

Round of applause

- Nominated Best International Short Film and Best Director at Dublin International Short and Music Festival 2020

- Two awards at Mumbai International Cult Film Festival — Best Debut Director and Best Actor in Supporting Role (special jury mention)

- Official selection at Montreal Independent Film Festival, Canada 2020

- Entered 26th Kolkata International Film Festival 2020, Jaipur International Film Festival 2020, Singapore International Film Festival 2020, Diorama Indie Shorts Awards Buenos Aires, Argentina 2020, Dharamshala International Film Festival