Sonsi Explained

Director:Savita Singh
Producer:Sharib Khan and Vikas Kumar
Starring:Aarohi Radhakrishnan and Jameel Khan
Cinematography:Savita Singh
Country:India
Runtime:25 minutes

Sonsi is an Indian short film produced by Sharib Khan and actor Vikas Kumar under the banner of Khan & Kumar Media Pvt. Ltd. and released in 2020. It stars actors Aarohi Radhakrishnan and Jameel Khan.[1] The film won a National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Cinematography at the 67th National Film Awards and was awarded the "Best Short Film" title at the Lady Filmmakers Festival held in Beverly Hills.[2] After winning the Best Film award at the Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, the film was also among the shortlisted entries for the Oscars in the Shorts section. The film is directed by Savita Singh and inspired by stories from her childhood, and the skewed gender roles in the film industry.[3] The movie's name is derived from Vinod Kumar Shukla's Hindi literary work titled "Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi" (A Window Lived in A Wall), which received the Sahitya Akademi Award for the best Hindi literature in 1999.[4]

Synopsis

The movie follows the journey of Nadi (Arohi Radhakrishnan), an eight-year-old girl who spends the entire movie in a dream-like state, somewhere between her conscious and subconscious mind. In this state, she eagerly anticipates meeting her shadow bird, Sonsi. The village also has a timekeeper, whose heart is fitted with a clock. The village only wakes up when the timekeeper arrives. One day, the timekeeper, also known as Ghadi baabu, fails to show up, and Nadi's shadow bird disappears. Distraught and confused, Nadi decides to follow a trail of clues into the forest.

Awards

YearCeremonyCategoryResult
202067th National Film AwardsNational Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Cinematography
Lady Filmmakers FestivalBest Short Film
Bengaluru International Short Film FestivalBest Film award
OscarsShortlisted

Notes and References

  1. News: Vikas Kumar On ‘Sonsi’ Winning The National Film Award: I’m Thrilled And Extremely Grateful . OutlookIndia.com .
  2. Web site: Oscars 2022: Sonsi, Produced By Aarya Actor Vikas Kumar, Joins Short Film Race . 2023-05-08 . NDTV.com.
  3. News: Kumar . Anuj . 2021-10-28 . Meet Savita Singh, the ‘camera ma’am’ . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-05-08 . 0971-751X.
  4. Web site: 2021-11-01 . Savita Singh’s directorial debut Sonsi is India’s entry to the Oscar Shorts . 2023-05-08 . The Indian Express . en.