Bombay Mirror: A powerful short film that went viral on the web

Monalisa Das| The News Minute | June 1, 2014 | 06:00 pm ISTIt is a movie that can give you goosebumps. If you are an internet junkie, you may have come across this 3 minute short film titled Bombay Mirror, uploaded on Youtube recently. Uploaded around 10 days ago, the video has gone viral and has got 3,45,000 plus hits on the video-sharing website.Shlok Sharma is the man behind this powerful movie that he calls a satire on the unpredictability of human nature. The movie shows how the human mind can go from being secular to communal in a matter of minutes . Shot in 2010, this film was a part of a UTV and Aircel campaign. A total of five films were shot on varying topics by individual directors. However, "none got released for reasons unknown", says Sharma.When we asked what made him decide on making the movie, Sharma said, “The only 'trigger' a film maker has for making a movie is an inspiration - in my case human behavior. I did not go ahead and make Bombay Mirror with a particular intention. I had an idea and I went ahead and expressed it - just like my other short films.”Sharma has an impressive track record. He worked as an assistant director to Vishal Bhardwaj (Blue Umbrella, Omkara) and Anurag Kashyap's (No Smoking, Dev D, That Girl In Yellow Boots). He’s also worked in Gangs of Wasseypur and has directed several other short films like Tubelight Ka Chand, Joy of Giving and Sujata.Many are curious to know the reason why the film was released on a public domain after a hiatus of 4 years. “Films are made for an audience. That’s all”, explains Sharma.Riding high on the appreciation and popularity that his short film is garnering, Sharma says he is “appalled, flattered and extremely inspired and encouraged as a filmmaker.”The film also stars the very charming Rajkummar Rao, who has enthralled us with his acting in blockbusters like Queen and Kai Po Che.Bombay Mirror, a dig on fanaticism, is becoming a must watch film on the internet. In the meanwhile, expectations are soaring about his first full length feature film Haramkhor, which is going through the post-production phase.