Shor Se Shuruaat - 2016

Story

Story: An omnibus of seven films on the subject of noise by debutant directors, each of who was mentored by a senior filmmaker.

Review: Given our shrinking attention span, short films may turn out to be an important medium through which content will be consumed in the future. But can we handle a bunch of them, say seven, in one go? Looking at Shor Se Shuruaat, it’s evident we can. The film delves into the subject of noise through seven stories, each presenting a unique take and dealing with real-life issues.

Sound here, is not just presented as one of the five human senses; the filmmakers deal with the word in its entirety. There’s the starting film Aazad where, not just the writer but also those around him, pay the price for his habit of saying the truth. Then there is Aamer, which tackles sound purely as a sense through the eyes of a young street kid in Mumbai.

Decibel, takes a dystopian look at sounds being banned in the future and how that may affect us. Dhwani is another dark yet life-affirming short on how an inmate on death row, who is scared of dying, peacefully accepts the fate that awaits him.

The omnibus has its low moments in the form of Hell O Hello, a take on shrill advertisements. When you feel the short film drags, in comes a song. Yellow Tin Can Telephone is about cross connection between senses. It tells its story in a refreshing manner. Though an overkill of style and colour, it leaves you happy. Mia I'm is based in the North-East and deals with MMS scandals and their effect on the victim. It has a lot of strong moments and talks about teenage angst and how one bounces back after life-altering events.

The performances are strong, especially those by Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Maurya, Pawan Manda Kale and Baia Marbaniang, the last two who are untrained actors.

Overall, Shor Se Shuruat is like a string of crackers where some burst beautifully while a few just make noise.