Ritanjali Hastir, Keekli Reporter, 6th June, 2015, Shimla
People of Shimla City got an opportunity to share the vision of a young talented Shimla-based filmmaker, Siddharth Chauhan; who made the state capital proud by bagging an award for a short film festival organized at Kochi; via two short films – “Boys Don’t Wear Nailpolish” and “The Infinite Space”, which were screened at the historic Gaiety Theatre, here today. While talking about his passion Siddharth said, “I want to make films which can touch people’s hearts and I am going to do that wherever I can. For me the place doesn’t matter. Luckily I am getting work with the best people in the industry but even if that wasn’t there, I would have continued to make films. I want to make people think and ponder on issues that are exiting in our society yet never given voice to”.
His small budget film Boys Don’t Wear Nailpolish won him the Golden Halo Award at the SCRIPT International Short Film Festival – 2014, which was organized in February. The film deals with a young mother’s battle against gender stereotyping to protect her child’s individuality in a society that promotes masculinity. The short film had also been screened at the Delhi International Film Festival – 2013; Phoenix Film Festival, Kolkata; and the International Documentary and Short Film Festival VIBGYOR – 2014.
He had earlier participated in the Indian Film Festival – 2011 in Shimla with his film Dreams, which featured local talent. Dreaming to make it big in films, Siddharth’s rendezvous with filmmaking took place at an early age. He learnt the tricks of the trade by reading and seeking information online. Using his sister’s Nikon D 3200 camera, he made his first experimental film, Zunei, about regressive hypnosis at the age of 19.
Whereas his other film The Infinite Space deals with the story of a young monk who finds a mystic message in the scripts and the impact of this hidden message in his life.
While commenting on the screened films, spectators said, “It was an amazing experience and it feels great that such creative and qualitative work came from a young local talent. The theme was thought provoking and one actually felt why we are so much into social norms and standards rather than individual’s happiness and desires”.
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