Young filmmaker strives to bring a change

By Akanksha Khushi

Jamshedpur: A 25 year old filmmaker, Nikhil Sharda is striving with newer concepts to bring in social changes through his documentary and short films.

In an exclusive interview with The Avenue Mail, the young filmmaker revealed that he chose films as a tool to bring social awareness because they cater to a mass audience. He says that films are a mirror of society. With his initial short film, �Only Me�, Sharda has tried to create awareness child sexual abuse. Besides making films, he believes in working relentlessly on and for relevant issues.

His journey as a filmmaker has always been riddled with struggles, but the strong desire to bring a change drives him forward. He mentioned about the struggles he has had to face while looking for actors or while approaching producers. He had to don the hat of an actor as well as a filmmaker for his first film because of a challenging role for which he could not get an actor. Most of Sharda�s films are in the silent genre with strong messages. He says, �Actions speak louder than words, and to communicate through expressions is much more difficult. I love such challenges and from audience and critics� response, it seems I am arriving at some point.�

When asked about his future projects, he refused to reveal the details but said that the film will be out by the end of June. He feels that India is afflicted with a lot of social issues, and he would never run out of topics to make films on them. He mentioned that he was in 12^th grade when he read about a case of a child�s sexual abuse in a newspaper. This led him to make a film on the issue in order to create awareness. Personal encounters with day to day social challenges give a shot in the arm to his creative instincts.

In his message to young, aspiring filmmakers, he outlines the �harsh truth� and says that there should be a determination and astuteness in the pursuit of celluloid creativity through transformation of mental expressions comprising thoughts and ideas into cinematic reality. In the process, he will learn several other nuances in the art of filmmaking. �I personally feel that those who tend or dream of entering the cinema space just for the sake of glamour quotient should stay away from the creative space of filmmaking. Glamour does come after long and strenuous times but that is virtually short-lived. The actual stuff is dedication, perseverance and the desire to learn, dream and visualise and the determination to convert mental expression to celluloid reality,� says he while signing off.