Reeling His Way Ahead

His 25-minute-long film was one of the first 10 to be short-listed for the Oscars. Shubhashish Bhutiani cleverly balanced the movie – inspired by a true incident – between tension and a child’s psyche. Kush is about a Sikh schoolboy who is the subject of worry for his teacher and classmates when they hear the sudden news of 1984’s Operation Bluestar on their way back from a school field trip. “I knew I would make the film the moment I heard the story. It gnawed at me for the longest time. After four years, when I felt ready to direct, it had to be this one.”

Being considered by the Golden Globe Academy Awards is a feat worthy of applause. And with all the exposure, the Venice International Film Festival 2013, South Asian Film Festival, and Hamton’s International Film Festival judged Kush to be worthy of accolades.

It took the 22-year-old director all of two years to complete the filming, “longer than it should have been”. And that’s because the perfectionist wanted a wholesome view by getting his entire team involved to the last detail. “All along the way I’ve tried to collaborate with the people who understand their job better than I do. Kush has really helped me grow as filmmaker, a story teller.” He hopes this experience will finally get him on the Bollywood platform someday.

But naturally.