Khisa review: Tragic story of loss of innocence reflects harsh reality of polarized times

Raj Pritam More's Khisa begins as the story of a child's curiosity about history, but by the time it ends the short film is a harsh commentary on today's highly polarized times.

A child (Vedant Shirsagar)  decides to get a large pocket stitched on his school shirt. He is proud of his pocket because it sets him apart from the rest of the children in school.

The boy, who is in the fourth standard, gets fascinated with the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji after listening to his teacher talk about Shivaji's valour. But, unbeknown to him, his fascination for Shivaji has far-reaching political implications in the lives of the adults in his village.

More and cinematographer Simarjit Singh Suman have beautifully captured the milieu of a village in such a short time.

Khisa's strength lies in its honest presentation of such an important topic. Despite highlighting the important topic of social harmony, the film never becomes preachy. The credit for not sermonizing to the audience with needless dialogues on social harmony should go to both director More and screenplay writer Kailash Waghmare.

The film keeps its focus on the boy and how he experiences this particular situation. Waghmare, who also plays the role of the boy's father, has done an excellent job showing the dilemma of a man caught between his duty as a father and his responsibility towards his community.

Vedant Shirsagar is excellent as the innocent child who is unaware of the repercussions of his actions. In certain scenes, he wins you over with his innocent expressions.

More, who is a respected contemporary visual and fine artist, has turned director for the first time. And based on this short film, a beautifully acted and directed film about a loss of innocence that reflects the harsh reality of today's polarized times, we can confidently say he has good command of the film idiom.

Khisa is being screened at the Dharamshala International Film Festival 2020, where it is in the running for the Audience award. You can watch the film here till Sunday 8 November.