Sukhpreet Kahlon
New Delhi, 09 Oct 2020 7:30 IST
Updated: 30 Mar 2021 2:16 IST
The 2010 short film starring Rajkummar Rao, Pubali Sanyal and Karan Mehat remains deeply relevant today.
Directed by Vikram Gupta, the short film Uss Din examines the ways in which violence begets violence in an intensely poisoned atmosphere where fear and mistrust of the other ruins the lives of people and of nations.
Two feuding families rage against and oppose each other until the only solution to their problem is found in going their separate ways. Despite the differences between the families, the children wish to play together and remain friends. However, the parents oppose any sign of friendship and, in the vitiated situation, innocent attempts by the children are aggressively shunned.
The world of the children and their desire for friendship contrasts sharply with the enmity of their families. The children are a comment on the way in which innocent lives are lost in the crossfire. By following a path of brutality, we lose the ones we seek to protect. In a turbulent, frenzied world, every move is read as a potential act of war and one seeks security through stockpiling weapons.
The short film is charged with aggression, and characters are whipped up into a frenzy, shouting and calling for action. It is chaotic and messy as Gupta tries to imagine the madness that engulfs people who resort to violence.
Uss Din was made in 2010 and stars Rajkummar Rao, Pubali Sanyal and Karan Mehat, among others. Although the film is a metaphor for the tense relationship between India and Pakistan, it is a deeply relevant film that reflects today's world at large, where we are seeing increasing intolerance towards religions, communities and even nations.
The film was recently included as part of the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films on YouTube.
Related topics
Cinestaan Curates YouTubeYou might also like
Review Hindi
Jogi review: Diljit Dosanjh-starrer is more like a thriller revolving around 1984 riots
The Ali Abbas Zafar film takes you by surprise with the riot angle brought in much earlier in the...
Review Hindi
Matto Ki Saikil review: Prakash Jha leads this sentimental saga of socio-economic inequality
Written and directed by M Gani, the Hindi film is a patchy yet heartbreaking look at the bleak class...
Review Hindi
Jhini Bini Chadariya review: A moving lamentation for the holy city of Varanasi
Ritesh Sharma’s hard-hitting film lays bare the social fabric of the city and the growing...