Keeping up with a ritual to keep an eye on the short films releasing and giving them a voice, here is a review of the short film Dafan that premiered on YouTube. Now, the thing with short films is that they are rich in content and really put the message across the table in a relatively shorter duration. With the same hope I watched Dafan. Is it worth your time, stay tuned.

Dafan is the story of….lets keep that under wraps. I have been guilty of revealing plot points of a few of the shorts but I feel at times it might reveal the entire story, so specifically with this short, I want you to go blind into it. Rest assured, like all short films, this one is relevant too. The best part of the screenplay is that it never tries to be too much in your face. The message is subtle with little to no melodrama. The vulnerability and the dilemma that the protagonist goes through is real, and the title has a much deeper meaning to it, which you discover as the movie rolls along. You will be able to draw a few parallels to the real world, especially some of the recent times when the truth was buried under a layer of lies. So excellent screenplay writing here.

The dialogues are subtle up until the end wherein they transform into hard hitting ones. The use of BGM in a few places stood out – like the clock ticking which mounts to the tension. Director Adeeb Rais who had previously directed one of my favourite short films has yet shown how capable he is. His direction is excellent.

The performances are excellent. Akshar Kothari as Inspector Apte is brilliant in a cameo. Neena Kulkarni as the doctor is wonderfully restrained. Ahsaas Channa as Tara is fiery in her role of being an idealist. She is such a natural and a joy to watch. Adeeb Rais as Vishal is the more humane and closer to reality kind of character. His vulnerability to slowly gathering a conscience is perfectly portrayed.

Dafan is subtle and hard hitting at the same time. Its messaging at the end is presented in the most restrained manner but it is relevant nevertheless. Available on YouTube and Highly Recommended