Short film Megha’s Divorce, starring Manjari Fadnis, has its Indian premiere at IFFI 2019

Filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda’s recent short film, Megha’s Divorce, brings to light a pertinent issue in India, that of climate change and pollution. The film had its Indian premiere at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) currently on in Goa.

The project, which is backed by the United Nations, is part of an anthology of short films from around the world titled Interdependence. The anthology, with a runtime of 1 hour 40 minutes, is made up of 11 short film from Morocco, Chad, Iceland, Portugal, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Brazil, China, New Zealand and Italy, besides India.

Panda’s short in Hindi runs for 11 minutes and features Manjari Fadnis, Divya Dutta and Tannistha Chatterjee. Megha’s Divorce, set in Delhi, raises awareness about the city’s environmental woes and how it is worsened by climate change through a compelling narrative.

The short film tells the story of Megha and Akaash whose marriage deteriorates because of the air pollution. It shows how it affects their daily lives, the economy, and even their relationship.

Lead actress Fadnis said of the film’s subject, “The recent news of Delhi smog has been heartbreaking and that is when I felt glad that in the least I could add my voice to something that every human being should be concerned about.”

Megha’s Divorce is expected to travel to at least 20 prestigious film festivals around the world as part of the anthology, Interdependence.