AWARD-WINNING MOVIES SHOT ON A CELLPHONE!

In the last two years, 23-year-old Anshul Sinha has won more than 73 awards for his nine short films, 30 documentaries and five public service messages. And what's even more commendable is the fact that his films, which delve deep into social, political and administrative issues plaguing the society, are all shot on a cellphone camera! 

Anshul's tryst with filmmaking began with a short film, Happy Birthday Pari, that also went on to win The Best Fiction Film at the International Cell Phone Cinema Film Festival, 2013. The movie, which tells the tale of an orphan girl child, was a clear winner among 600 entries from across 17 countries.

"Making movies with a five megapixel cellphone camera is a difficult task, especially since the chances of shaky footage and blurred images are high. Unlike a professional camera, you can't use a tripod. Your hands begin to hurt after a point as you have to hold them really steady. But since I could not afford expensive shooting equipment, I had to perfect my method with a cellphone. Now, I can say I'm a pro at it," he quips.

Lapet, the recent film made by the Mass Communications graduate from Bhavan's College of Science, went on to beat numerous entries to win the award for the Best Narrative Film at the prestigious My Hero International Film Festival held in Los Angeles. "Lapet is a story that will make you ponder about the issue of communal tension in our country. It's got an interesting screenplay which shows how the age-old tradition of kite-flying competitions takes an ugly turn and what happens next," says Anshul. Though his resources may be limited, Anshul goes that extra mile to shoot his films, even if it means he has to undertake a sting operation for his documentaries. In fact, his investigative story, The Unseen Disaster, has even been selected for the Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival. The movie portrays the dark truth about how hospitals in Hyderabad dispose orphaned bodies in naalas. "I took close to six months to research for this documentary. In the movie, you'll see footage that I managed to capture of a hospital worker disposing a dead body in the open drains near Hanuman Nagar. With my films, I hope to expose the sufferings of the underprivileged, who've been ignored by the system," he says. Eagerly awaiting the results of this film festival, Anshul says, "They will announce the results by the end of April. I'm nervously counting days with bated breath. I hope I win. It's a prestigious title." 

Another of Anshul's short film - My Chocolate Cover - which creates awareness on a clean and green environment has won close to 21 national awards and has even been selected by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation as part of their eco-friendly campaign. The die-hard fan of Anurag Kashyap's movies is now waiting for a big break. "Not everyone is fond of documentaries, but when you creatively weave a documentary story in a feature film format, like in a docu-drama, you'll definitely find takers, at least on the social media platform," says Anshul, whose next film is based on the Dilsukhnagar blasts. 

[email protected]