Harshit (film)

Harshit
Directed byDhruva Harsh
Written byDhruva Harsh
Produced byAnil S. Soni
Surabhi Bhattacharjee
Dhruva Harsh
Ashutosh Srivastav
StarringSatyajeet Dubey
Diksha Juneja
Natasha Rana
CinematographyAnkur Rai
Edited bySurya Kant Verma
Music byVickey Prasad
Production
companies
Soni Brothers Entertainment
Glorious Gonardh
Distributed byDisney+ Hotstar
Amazon Prime
Running time
25 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Harshit is a Hindi-language short film written and directed by Dhruva Harsh.[1] It was streamed on the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar[2] and Amazon Prime.[3] The film features Satyajeet Dubey and Diksha Juneja in lead roles.[2]

The film was produced by Soni Brothers Entertainment and Glorious Gonardh, and is inspired from William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet.[2]

Harshit was selected for film festivals such as the 16th Mindanao Film Festival (2018) in the Philippines, the Pondicherry International Film Festival (2018), the 4th International Film Festival of Shimla (2018), the 7th Delhi International Film Festival (2018) in New Delhi, and the 7th Smita Patil International Film Festival, Pune (2018).[2] It was originally released in 2008. It began streaming on Amazon Prime on 20 August 2020.[4]

Plot

In the movie, the narrative unfolds around Harshit (Satyajeet Dubey), a Hindu boy, and Rahila (Diksha Juneja), a young Muslim girl, who find themselves deeply in love. Despite facing intense scrutiny and disapproval from their families and friends, Harshit is determined to formalize their relationship. However, as Rahila's family becomes increasingly aware of their affection, a series of tragic events ensue, leading to disastrous consequences for the couple and their circle of friends and relatives.[2][1][5]

Cast

  • Satyajeet Dubey as Harshit
  • Shubham Chandna as Ravi
  • Diksha Juneja as Rahila
  • Abhishek Pandey as Kareem
  • Natasha Rana as Manju
  • Shiv Saroj as Shiv
  • Bunty Chopra as Harshit's father
  • Rajneesh Behl as Maulana

Reception and recognition

Rajiv Mani of The Times of India writes, "The film manages to be an entertaining blend of Shakespeare's play, along with the layers of symbolism it contains, as well as a story heavily influenced by Indian culture."[1]

Rouven Linnarz of Asian Movie Pulse, described the film as a "wonderful interpretation of its inspiration with exceptional performances."[6] Reviewing the film for CinemadeinAsia, Jonny Blanco commended the film for incorporating essential elements of Shakespeare's work while adding a unique twist by depicting the ethnic and religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India.[7]

In October 2018, the film was selected and screened at the 4th International Film Festival of Shimla, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Language Art and Culture Department of the Government of Himachal Pradesh.[8] At the 2018 International Short Film Festival in Pune, Harshit secured the Best Film Award, with its director winning the Best Director's Award, and Satyajeet Dubey receiving the Best Actor Award.[9]

Accolades

Year Category Institute Result Ref.
2018 Official Selection Pondicherry International Film Festival Won [10]
2018 Official Selection Mindanao Film Festival Won [11]
2018 Official Selection International Film Festival of Shimla Won [12]
2018 Best short film National Short Film Festival, Kolkata Won [10]
2018 Best screenplay National Short Film Festival, Kolkata Won [10]
2018 Official Selection Smita Patil International Film Festival, Pune Won [2]
2018 Best Director International Short Film Festival, Pune Won [8]
2018 Best 3rd film International Short Film Festival, Pune Won [8]
2019 Official Selection Kolkata Short and Feature Film Festival Won [13]
2019 Official Selection Chambal International Film Festival Won [14]

References

  1. ^ a b c Mani, Rajiv (7 August 2020). "Dhruva Harsh makes AU proud by making 'Harshit'". The Times of India.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Khatoon, F. (28 August 2020). "Satyajeet Dubey's short film is a forbidden-love story of Harshit and Rahila, inspired by Shakespeare". The New Indian Express. Indulge Xpress.
  3. ^ "Harshit". Amazon Prime. 2019.
  4. ^ "Harshit". Rottentomatoes.com.
  5. ^ "Harshit". Indianfilmhistory.com. 18 October 2019.
  6. ^ Linnarz, Rouven (5 April 2019). "Short Film Review: Harshit (2018) by Dhruva Harsh". Asian Movie Pulse.
  7. ^ Blanco, Jonny (October 2019). "REVIEW: Harshit (2018) Directed by Dhruva Harsh -Short Film". CineMadeinAsia.
  8. ^ a b c "Shortlisted Film for Screening - 4th International Film Festival of Shimla-2018". IFFS.in. 14 October 2018.
  9. ^ "#Award List 2018" (PDF). IS Film Festival. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  10. ^ a b c Rajput, Amit (29 May 2018). "ध्रुव हर्ष की फ़िल्म Harshit को मिला ये अवॉर्ड" (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 21 March 2019.
  11. ^ "16th Mindanao Film Festival". 2018.
  12. ^ "IFFS 2018 Screening Schedule". iffs.in. October 2018.
  13. ^ "List of Selected Films for Screening at 15th KSFF". Chitrabani. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Official Selection List". ciff.co.in. 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018.