Bollywood A-listers taking to web shorts: A look at what’s out there

There’s humour and subtlety, dark comedy and courage in the short films that some of our best-known actors and directors are making for the internet.

Big-screen veterans like Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah are showing up in sweet romantic short films online. Actors like Kalki Koechlin, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nimrat Kaur are featuring in dark shorts with gnarly scripts. Some are just five minutes long; the longest is 16. Here’s a look at some of the A-list web shorts now out there.

Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta like you’ve never seen them before. Khujli, 2017.

In Kheer, released on Valentine’s Day, 2017, Anupam Kher’s character, Nanu, faces a barrage of questions when his grandkids discover him making kheer for a lady friend. Directed by Surya Balakrishnan.

In Khujli (2017), a middle-aged dad played by Jackie Shroff discovers handcuffs in his son’s room and realises that his wife, played by Neena Gupta, has been reading Fifty Shades of Grey. They decide to experiment in the bedroom, with touching and rather funny results.

Chutney (2016): Shorn of make-up and glamour, a very different Tisca Chopra plays a homemaker from Ghaziabad who goes slightly unhinged when she sees her husband flirting repeatedly with an attractive young neighbour. Also featuring Adil Hussain.

Ouch (2016): Manoj Bajpayee plays a married man having an affair with married woman. He dreams of divorcing his wife and starting a new life, but gets a rude awakening. Watch it for Bajpayee’s comic timing. Directed by Neeraj Pandey.

Hear No Evil (2016): A disturbing look at an alcoholic woman’s (Dimple Kapadia) relationship with her rebellious son. Directed by Pranav Adarsh.

India Tomorrow (2016): A moving film just six minutes long, showing a sex worker arguing about stocks with her stockbroker client. Directed by Imtiaz Ali.

Interior Café Night (2016): A 13-minute short about second chances. What happens when a café owner (Naseeruddin Shah) runs into a long-lost love (Shernaz Patel) after 30 years.Directed by Adhiraj Bose.

Kriti (2016): A psychological thriller about a mentally ill person opening up about his new love to his psychiatrist. What’s real and what’s not? Featuring Manoj Bajpayee and Radhika Apte. Directed by Shirish Kunder.

Taandav (2016): A dark comedy about a cop (Manoj Bajpayee) torn between good and evil. Watch it for the dance sequence by Bajpayee. Directed by Devasish Makhija.

Ahalya (2015): A modern retelling of the myth from the Ramayana. Featuring Soumitra Chatterjee, and Radhika Apte. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh.

El’ayichi (2015): In this brilliant 5-minute short, Nimrat Kaur plays an irritable but lonely woman whose husband refuses to leave her, even after death. Directed by Devasish Makhija.