Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap whose short film was screened at the Cannes festival recently, says short films will redefine the future of Indian cinema.
"Short films will redefine the future of Indian cinema and not some mainstream one whose fate is decided on a Friday night. In fact shorts have already redefined it, so to speak and, are offering us perspectives that big-ticket cinema hardly does," says Kashyap.
The director whose "Murabba" was part of "Bombay Talkies" - an anthology of four short films that was screened at the Cannes 2013 festival, has also co produced five short films with Viacom 18, which have been released on You Tube.
The films are part of the 'India is' web-based campaign, run under the aegis of the Public Diplomacy Division of the External Affair Ministry.
Commissioned by YouTube under public-private-partnership with the MEA, the films exploring a common theme -'India Is a Visual Journey' - are made by young upcoming directors who have collaborated with Kashyap on his previous projects like, "Dev D", "Shor" and "Gangs of Wasseypur" among others.
The five films - "Hidden Cricket", "Geek Out", "Chai", "Moi Murjani", and "Epiphany" along with over 500 video submissions marked the 'India Is' a digital platform campaign from the Division, to connect and interact with people from all over the world and make them think more about India.
"People think feature films are difficult to make. But, it is the short films which are much more difficult to make. The kind of India and the visual appeal that these films are providing a regular, mainstream film never can," said Kashyap who was in the city recently.
The acclaimed filmmaker hailed them as an "incredibly talented bunch" of filmmakers, who belonging to different parts of India have "so much to say and show to its people".
"When I was approached by Google to make short films for the campaign, I told these young but very talented directors to put together films that really showcase the essence of India, the spirit of India, aspirations of young India and the challenges of modern day life of India.
"We tried our best to move away from all the touristy kind of films and focus on the real India. And, they have attempted to show the everyday India through a visual journey. And, through their creativity, they have attempted to show in 'India Is' what India is," the 40-year-old director said.
