The Broken Table

The legendary actor Naseeruddin Shah collaborates with Chintan Sarda for the highly compelling short film, ‘The Broken Table‘. In this film, we will see Naseeruddin Shah and Rasika Dugal in the lead roles, the most exciting fact is this short film has already qualified for the Oscars in the Live-action short film category. We would like to inform you that the film will now race with other qualified films across the world for the final nominations.

The movie has won Best Film at BISFF (Bengaluru International Short Film Festival), a one and only Oscar-qualifying festival in India. After this, we can say that we are now one step ahead to bag the Academy Award. The win at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival is now a step closer to winning the Academy Award. In between this Sarda has elated like one could be. However, he opened up that awards and recognition were not on the back of his mind while he was passionately working on it.

The Broken Table: Plot

The highly qualified short film featured Naseeruddin Shah who appears as Giri. He is suffering from Alzheimer’s, which has raised concerns amongst senior citizens. Rasika Dugal appears In the role of Deepti. In this, she is struggling to deal with the eccentricity of Giri along with her own life’s dilemma through one turbulent day. In between this the day she has made a bizarre along with the fact that Giri is continuously invoking his wife and finds Deepti dead just a few years back.

After winning the Oscars, Chintan Sarda, and Rasika Dugal have expressed their honor for the fame. In between this Chintan Sarda said, “I still can’t believe our film is being considered for the biggest prize for cinema in the world. I don’t know if the film will make the cut for the nominations but it has truly been an honor to direct a legend like Naseer Sahab and Rasika. The wonderful team behind the camera has contributed so much to get the film to this stage and I am grateful to all of them.”

After winning the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, Chintan Sarda said, “One does not make films for awards but when audience or awards recognize you, it does give you a sense of validation and satisfaction. Especially when your film qualifies for the biggest prize in cinema on the planet, it cannot feel good”.

He also added that he is not just keeping the expectation too high, and said “It is still a long shot and the film may never make it to the nomination stage but being in the pool from which nominations are picked, is itself a big deal. I feel that films are like a playground, where I play my favorite game – storytelling. I get to make a make-believe world and characters. I get to create drama and humor. It all is too good to be true and I still can’t believe I can do this for a living.”

By sharing his views on the same, Sarda says, “I feel each award has its own credibility and standing. Unfortunately, a lot of awards in India haven’t built credibility like the international ones because they are run more like an entertainment package or a TV show and a very small contingent of the filmmaking fraternity really decides who wins what. So it is not really approval from an international festival or award but it is more about which award or festival has managed to create a standing in the industry and the minds of people like Oscars, BAFTA or Emmys have.”

“It does become easier to execute one’s ideas as these stalwarts bring so much craft and experience to the table. I had met Rasika at a film festival. When I pitched the short film to her, she immediately agreed to do it. Later, in fact, we had disagreements as subsequent drafts were a major departure from the first one but eventually, we found common ground. Those disagreements helped us a lot I think in understanding what we really wanted to say through the film and how.”

Rasika Duggal has introduced Sarda to Shah. “Naseer Sahab has been her teacher at the film institute. He immediately came on board too after reading the script. He said he loved the script. My first interaction with him was at his house and I was constantly telling myself that I cannot act like a fan. He is a legend and the reason I entered films but I had to give him confidence then that I could direct him. It worked out I guess,” he concluded.

Rasika Dugal also said, “I am delighted that our short film The Broken Table has won the best film at the Oscar-qualifying festival BISFF. And is now live in the Academy screening room for jury members to vote. It is so encouraging to know that this simple yet unusual story about love and acceptance is resonating with people. Fingers crossed that we make it to the Oscar shortlists! “

The Broken Table: Cast

The short film features Naseeruddin Shah, Rasika Dugal, Gauri Nalawade, Manyuu Doshi, Ishan Kunte, and Ajit Ranjan.

The Broken Table: Release date

The Broken Table is now premiering exclusively on Royal Stag Barrel Select’s Large Short Films YouTube Channel. The film started live on 27^th November 2023.

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