Going behind the camera lens: Meet talented young students who have caught the filmmaking bug

While Bollywood may be a so called ‘privileged’ field for the aspiring few in it, this does not deter other youth from trying their hand at the profession. There are many who are studying or are just out of college, who are fascinated with film-making. To support this art form along with the overwhelming amount of young talent, we have Film Festivals providing both a push and a platform to showcase their talent. 

Here’s a short list of a few students who fit this bill:

TEAM NOSTALGIATY: MUMBAI

A team of seven enthusiastic students from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai constitute this group. Raashi Mètkari, the cinematograher, Avinash Nongrum who takes care of production, Nilesh Chawhan, the actor, Rahul Agarwal,
the assistant director, Simran Cherayil, a Production Manager, Mignonne D’souza, the content head and Vivashwan Chaudhary who edits, writes and directs. The group worked on a film called Year 2027, which focused on water problems which could arise in the near future. “We researched and gathered a few statistics about water problems and then went out to shoot,” says Vivashwan. Participating in the Anvaya Film Festival, the film won the title of Best Film. 

It was purely their love for filmmaking and the appreciation received for their work which kept them going. According to Vivashwan, among the many difficulties faced by college students who have a passion for making films is that of college projects and exams. Still, they continue to make short films such as The Postmaster – A tale of incomplete letters which was aired on Saam television last week to their utter delight. 

TEAM: ATRANGI THEATRE COMPANY: MUMBAI

Like their name, the Atrangi Group participated in the India Film Project and were mandated to do a “sarcastic drama”. A team of 4, headed by Abirudh Kamble, an MBA student, made a short film called Loan. The story is of a

young man who loses his job and seeks refuge in his friends. Soon he gets a call from a bank offering him a loan of a few lakhs. Taking the opportunity he takes the loan and sets off on a journey fulfilling his “wish-list”. Although the story ends in a suicide the team chose to parody it, rather than treat it with a sense of depression. 

TEAM NERDBOY: DELHI

The Nerdboyis a team consisting of three students from St. Stephens College in Delhi. Kevin Missal, Ayush Dogra,Sanjeev Sikri who are pursuing their Bachelors in Arts have produced a short film called Cracked. The love story personifies the feeling of “being on top of the world”. When they sent the film to the India Film Project, a 50 hour film-making competition, they didn’t win. “We did not lose hope, we liked the film so much that we were happy that we made it.” says Ayush Dogra . The group continues to make films out of passion, which is the primary driving force.

TEAM IGNITED MIND ARTWORKS: DELHI 

A 14 person complexity, it’s headed by Sudhanshu  Saxena the director, who started his journey in what he calls “the rat race which is the educational system”. While in college he worked in ad films and other commercial videos to generate income to fund his films. “I never chose film-making, it chose me. Engineering was never my thing” says Sudhanshu. He has the backing of a whole team who supports him by taking care of make-up, hair and other aesthetics while they shoot. The team refused to choose any one particular film as their best, however if had to pick one which was their favourite, it would be Smile which depicted the problems of a woman at home when her man goes to work