Vidya Balan-starrer short film, Natkhat, joins the Oscar 2021 race

Vidya Balan-starrer short film, Natkhat, is now in the race for the Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action). Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Shaan Vyas, Natkhat is a 33-minute short, which highlights the values we learn at home. It revolves around Vidya, who notices her young, school-going son Sonu (Sanika Patel) gravitating towards misogyny and disregard for the other gender just like the men in her family. Vidya, who turned producer with this film, is seen playing the role of a homemaker in a patriarchal setup. The film touches upon the sweet mother-son relationship, which quivers with each blow, and settles with a soothing touch.

Across the turbulent year of 2020, Natkhat travelled and was screened at prestigious international (virtual) film festivals across the world. It world premiered at Tribeca’s We Are One: A Global Film Festival (2nd June 2020) after which it was screened and won the German Star of India Award at the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart (15th - 20th July 2020). The short film was also invited for the London Indian Film Festival in London and Birmingham (17th - 20th Sept 2020), the South Asian Film Festival - Orlando/Florida Film Festival (10th - 11th Oct 2020) and opened the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (16th - 23rd Oct 2020).