Even as curbs on social media continue to get worse in Kashmir with each passing day, the video teaser of a short-film Do Cup Chai, a romantic drama, is doing rounds in the Valley.
The main reason why this movie has become the talk of the town in the restive Valley is that it has been directed by Rayit Qazi, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Kashmir, presently based in Mumbai. The Kashmiri audience finds the teaser “very touchy” and look ahead for its release so as to get the complete story.
Qazi, who completed his graduation in filmmaking from Symbiosis Institute of Media Communications three years ago, has a passion for making short-films for which he writes the scripts himself.
His one such short film Jamalo, which he made during the college days, was an instant hit. But after graduation, Qazi remained more occupied with commercial assignments in Bollywood and advertising industry, and thus couldn’t devote much time towards his fondness to make short movies.
“But I had worked on the script for Do Cup Chai,” Qazi told InUth.com. “And it finally came out in the form of this romantic drama.”
The young filmmaker has tied up with Red Carpet Moving Pictures for the release and promotion of Do Cup Chai. The 12-minute movie has already been nominated at New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF 2017) under best short film category. Its international premiere was recently held at the same festival in the States.
Qazi says the film is a drama which takes place inside a house where two people meet each other after a span of eight years. “She has family, kids. The other guy is still there and hasn’t moved ahead in life.”
Though the film is yet to be released for the Indian audience, internationally it has drawn overwhelming appreciation. “Our first aim is to send it to international film festivals before releasing it on TV and internet portals back home,” he informed.
The budding filmmaker wants to shoot his upcoming ventures mainly in Kashmir and said that he was “waiting for the situation to improve a bit. Otherwise, my team is ready to shoot in the paradise.”
As of now, Qazi is optimistic that Do Cup Chai will leave an impact on the global screens and win the hearts of the audience. “Insha Allah, we’ll win!”
