Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana recently joined hands to form a cinema collective — Indian Women Rising — where they showcase the lovely tales made by and about women all over the world.
One such film is made by an upcoming Indian filmmaker called Karishma Dev Dube called Bittu — recipient of the prestigious 47th Student Academy Award. The film is qualified for the Oscars in the Short Film in Live Action category. Bittu is a film that follows the day in the life of an 8-year-old fierce little girl called Bittu and her friend Chando in the forgotten hills of Uttarakhand.
We first see her with her friend Chando, singing a few songs and earning a few bucks in the streets. She then goes to school and we see she is a rebel who doesn’t conform to the norms and is very spontaneous and confident. We see this right from the start — when she is asked to wash her face, and doesn’t speak in English or doesn’t say sorry when asked to. Chando also points out that Bittu isn’t very good in her studies, leading them to fight. While we see this frustration building in Bittu‘s head, we see her leave the school, still quite pissed at Chando, and lose herself among strangers during a baraat procession. This is a tale of her coming to realise their friendship and bond and the fact that only Chando really cared for her in her little world.
The innocence and honesty is one that will stay in your heart and Bittu‘s face at the end of the film will stay with you for long after the film is done.
Bittu has had a stellar festival run with 18+ festivals and multiple wins. Having screened at the BFI London Film Festival, Telluride, Palm Springs Shortfest, HollyShorts (where Karishma won the best director award), Bittu also came to India with Dharamshala International Film Festival.