Actress
Sayani Gupta, who had a rather gratifying ‘working lockdown’, is excited about the short film '
Shameless
', which she stars in, being eligible for qualification at Academy Awards 2021 in the Live Action short film category. The 15-minute film, directed by
Keith Gomes, also features
Hussain Dalal.
As much as Sayani is elated about this feat, she says there’s a long way ahead for the team. “The film has just qualified, and hopefully will get into the
Oscars fray, but I don’t exactly know how the system of the awards work. There are a lot of things that need to be done before it finally makes the cut. It’s a really long process, so I’m not getting my hopes too high,” says the
Article 15
actress.
The short film, which tells a story of loss of human spirit because of a world that has gravitated towards technology, is comical in its treatment, and Sayani says that the theme is quite relevant to our times. The Jagga Jasoos actress, who plays a delivery girl in the short, says it’s refreshing to see a woman delivery girl on screen because that’s a rare sight. “The film also highlights how we treat people from the lower strata of society and talks about the class system. Besides, it also depicts how we are cut off from human connections, interactions and touch and are glued to our phones. This makes us agitated and impatient and that affects our relationships with other people,” she quips.
Sayani is dabbling in films, web shows and short films and says that the medium is irrelevant to her as long as she enjoys working on a project. “Ever since I set foot in Mumbai, I have been doing short films. In fact, I got my first feature film because of my work in a short film that I acted in while I was studying at FTII. It’s not the medium that matters. As an actor you do your job and the job doesn’t change in any way. If the material is good then I’m all game. The fact that a short film can reach such a huge platform is a wonderful feeling and extremely encouraging for us and all those people whose films are completing,” adds the '
Margarita With A Straw
' actress.
Speaking of her experience during the lockdown, Sayani says she’s grateful for the work she is doing despite the pandemic. “The lockdown has been generous to me. In the last 7-8 months, there was a lot of work that kept me busy. It has been a working lockdown and I’m thankful for that," says Sayani, who is consciously working from home and saying no to work that requires her to go to sets for long hours.