Cast: Atul Kulkarni, Sakshi Tanwar, Sanjay Mishra, Rasika Duggal, Asimah Mishra, Chandan K Anand, Vijay Varma, Sahel Phull, Shikahar Misra, Abhishek Pandey
Direction: Pratik Rajen Kothari, Rahul V Chittella, Arunima Sharma, Satish Raj Kasireddi, Amira Bhargava, Supriya Sharma, and Annie Zaidi
Production House: Humara Media Labs (Preety Ali, Vinay Mishra and Pallavi Rohatgi)
Duration: 2 hours 05 min
Genre: Drama
The greatest appeal of Shor Se Shuruaat is the simplicity of its concept. Seven short stories revolving around one single theme – Noise. Having watched short story compilations in Dus Kahaaniyan, Darna Mana Hai, Darna Zaroori Hai and such, we’re certain that Indian filmgoers are sufficiently prepared to receive anthology films.
Shor Se Shuruaat, however, is an experiment even by Bollywood standards. Seven budding film directors were chosen and mentored by seven experienced and most respected directors in the business, to produce seven different tales centred on the same central theme. Starting from exploring the deafening cacophony in our souls, to understanding absolute silence from the sounds of sleep, to the repetitive noisy advertisements that punctuate our lives, these seven stories explore the auditory world that determines our lives.
The Seven Stories
Azaad
Director: Rahul Chittella
Mentor: Mira Nair
Yellow Tin Can Telephone
Director: Arunima Sharma
Mentor: Homi Adjania
Aamer
Director: Amira Bhargava
Mentor: Zoya Akhtar
Dhvani
Director: Supriya Sharma
Mentor: Nagesh Kukunoor
Decibel
Director: Annie Zaidi
Mentor: Sriram Raghvan
Hell O Hello Can you hear me?
Director: Pratik Rajen Kothari
Mentor: Shyam Benegal
Mia I’m
Director: Satish Raj Kasireddi
Mentor: Imtiaz Ali
About Shor Se Shuruaat
The greatest challenge of reviewing an anthology is that neither appreciation not criticism can be pronounced uniformly. While some of the stories like Dhvani and Yellow Tin Can Telephone are deeply insightful and rich in narrative, the others simply fail to leave any lasting impact. Some of them are futuristic while others are dark; some are life-affirming while others are damning. While much of the credit is due to new and upcoming directors, the touch of experience is also discernible in many of these tales.
Having said all this, it is important to pronounce why Shor Se Shuruaat may not be a great success. It is not the regular run-of-the-mill Hindi flick. Nor does it come packed with star power, or for that matter, any directorial brilliance to keep the audience tethered to their seats. It is a movie made for an audience willing to experience sound, and experiment with noise, after having watched it.
Shor Se Shuruaat is indeed a “shuruaat”, a beginning. Not many directors, even brilliant ones, have risked exploring short films as a means of artistic expression. We’re hoping this will change the attitude of both the production houses and directors and the audience in India towards short films.
Rating:
***
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