Putting Across Big Thought In 20 Minutes Is Not An Easy Task: Nawazuddin Siddiqui

In an exclusive interview with Outlook, one of the finest craftsmen of Indian cinema, Nawazuddin Siddiqui talks on how to make short films popular in India. Excerpts:

What do you have to say about the short film culture in India, do you think it is growing?

Short film culture is not really new in India. It was always there. I did a short film in 2003 called ‘Bypass’ which is one of the most popular and my favourite too. It did get a lot of recognition and awards too, but what’s actually what I feel that there should be a platform for short films. Thanks to Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Film’s initiative and I feel that if this continues, there will be a channel for good exposure for short films. The short film is a film that is very short which means the responsibility of the makers and the actors' increases because you have to send across a message in a short time.

In the beginning, also short films were made, but the finesse that is required was missing. Just that somebody needs to take the initiative of giving it the right push and exposure, then only the makers and the artists of short films will get the motivation to do better. With short films comes the responsibility to make everybody understand the moral and the inner meaning of it.

The target audience for short films…

Short films have a very specific audience so the content should be out of the box. Now with digital media and Youtube getting popular among the audiences, short films are picking up. But what is required is a huge support system. And that can be possible only if we come up with unique and original content, not something that is regular. Short films can be about our society too, but it has to have a different perspective.

If we are only targeting the regular audience for short films then short films are never going to get popular. It will continue to lag behind in the entertainment industry. It is going to be successful only if we are targeting the ‘khas’(special) audience whose IQ level is high; it cannot be for the ‘aam jantaa’ (ordinary masses).

How difficult is it to send across a message in 15 to 20 minutes?

Putting across a big thought in 20 minutes is not an easy task. Short films are not like it can be a remake of any south film or any European film. In a short film, the original idea is the only key to success. The thought process should be so sharp and advanced that we as craftsmen should be able to make the audience understand the inner meaning of it. You can make web series and feature films out of normal issues, but a short film will get popular only when it has a big perspective and it should be thought-provoking too.

I have done around 70 short films and they are very close to my heart. But then again, I am very choosy about that also, like for me it cannot be like any other Bollywood film. It has to be unique. ‘Aak Khas Baat hona Chahiya!’ (There has to be something special)