Nazariya || Perspective
You earn for your living, but are you living? You listen to music every day but when was the last time your soul danced on it? Using perfume is okay but when was the last time you smelled a rose? You look at your phone daily but when was the last time you admired the sky?
Nazariya, our short-film which started as a mere passion project, focuses on the little pleasures of life which today’s fast-paced lifestyle has alienated us from. It expresses that peace can’t be measured in terms of materialism. It depicts how a 100 rupee note enlivens the life of an old man and makes him march on a journey to explore his childhood again.
Our short-film rejuvenates the lives of our viewers in a way that will enlighten them with the fact that yes! happiness can be found in less. Money can fulfill your necessities but can it give your body the rest which your mind is looking for?
What emotions did the film trigger? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.
We at French Fries Films have always been cause-driven but a point came when we were so engrossed in clientele work that we had no time to do something for our creative satisfaction. We then came across a very renowned film making challenge - the India Film Project, wherein the challenge was to create a film in 48-hours. This excited us, and we challenged ourselves to divert from our daily routine. The challenge started on a Friday evening and we had 48 hours to write, shoot and edit the film. Till Saturday night we had nothing on our camera and honestly, nothing on our minds too. We really wanted to participate and at least complete the challenge. Faraz had this story idea where a man finds a stray 100 rupee note and decides to use it to enjoy himself, and we thought it’s a great idea to shoot for this challenge and something which we can shoot in real time. We started to look for our main character and locations. Simultaneously, A screenplay was being written and we were also finding music tracks to save time. It was close to midnight when we approached Prof. / Actor Dinesh Khanna to play this character. He listened to us and agreed to shoot with us the very next morning with an open mind. Handsdown! He is the most humble and modest man ever blessed with remarkable acting skills.
When the team finalized everything and saw the movie for the last time before submitting, we were hit by the depth of the emotions. However, like every director, I also had the mindset that the story could have improved, But nonetheless, the next day onwards our routine took over again. The film was on the shelf for years until the Habitat Film Festival. Faraz, the idea creator was very keen on submitting the film but it was not ready for a platform like this. Later, for this festival some parts of the draft were re-shot, edited, technically corrected and colour graded to call it a film. It was then somewhat ready to face the heat and was submitted to the Habitat Film Festival. Luckily, it got selected for the official screening. We didn’t know pushing ourselves and sacrificing a lazy weekend for a decade old idea would turn to be so fruitful. The film was hugely appreciated and acknowledged, several articles were written in regard to the emotions expressed.
There was a feeling of satisfaction as to what we had created, a little something to remember about how to find contentment in this materialistic world. Happiness does have a price, but it made us and our viewers realise that more can be found in less. That money does come with a price which is our peace!
This pandemic has really taken everyone aback; It’s quite evident, isn’t it? Little things in life which we took for granted are things we miss the most and this is what the film is all about.
Tech Specs:
- Shot on Sony a7s Mark1 with Tamron 24mm - 70mm, that’s it!
Film Credits:
Directed, Filmed & Edited by : Ravneet Oberoi
Written By: Faraz Mirza
Cast: Dinesh Khanna
Priyanshu Baranwal
Dilip Singh
Co-Edited By: Amit Setia
Assisted By: Ashish Kumar Thapa
Music By: Betterdays- Bensound.com
Lullabye- Musicbed.com
