The team of short-film Poonam is overcome with joy as their film bags award for the ‘Best Short Film’ at the 7th Art Independent International Film Festival. The protagonists essayed by Meeta Vashishta and Rajit Kapur were conferred with the awards for ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Actor’ in the short film category respectively. Directed by Sanjay Sanwal, this is a social short film in English.
Poonam revolves around two characters- Kapur’s Suraj and Vashisht’s Poonam who drifted apart while fulfilling their social responsibilities and find each other at crossroads when they have been abandoned and left alone. Meeta Vashishta and Rajit Kapur are known for doing justice to their characters.
It was after inspecting data and research on elderly care that Poonam was conceptualized. The film looks beyond the ambit of physiological needs, living conditions and economic considerations. The film aims to inculcate understanding and awareness on the elderly plight—loneliness that is just like any other disease. Spike in loneliness among the elderly is attributed to the changing family dynamics.
Imbibing the value that psychological health is equally important, the short film was scripted around the idea of tackling loneliness through elderly companionship that can bear an effect on the holistic health of the elderly.
“Elderly Care and the loneliness that comes with its negligence is a cause that needs to be addressed by society, organizations and authorities with sensitivity and a sense of responsibility. It is high time much care is taken in streamlining simple facilities and revisiting policies for the ageing population. We decided to use the medium of film to tell the story of Poonam and Suraj to evoke a wave of introspection," said Shilpi Das Chohan, Founder, Shilpi's Voice & Visuals who produced the film.
The film was shot in the city of Nainital, the hometown of the director. The picturesque view of the lake district of India was like the cherry on the cake.