Right Here, Right Now (film)

Right Here Right Now (2003) is a short film written and directed by Mumbai based filmmaker Anand Gandhi. It won critical acclaim and wide audience appreciation in the years following its premiere at the Indo-British Film and Video Festival. It has achieved a near-cult status in the Indian underground.

Synopsis

A young man in his haste to go some place takes two actions - he shouts at his mother for making him late, and he lovingly appreciates his brother's painting. His mother vents out her anger on her maidservant. Here the 'frustration cycle' starts. The maid, in turn, shouts at her daughter [who upsets her boyfriend by refusing to go for a movie with him]. Meanwhile, the young man's brother gifts the painting to his girlfriend, who makes her dad happy. Her dad, in turn, drives the car himself as a birthday present for the driver. The driver, in turn, gets a boy on the street a free bicycle ride. The boy helps an old lady in carrying heavy things. This makes her happy & she urges her granddaughter to flee [elope] with her boyfriend. This is the zenith of the 'happiness cycle' created by the young man. The granddaughter's boyfriend decide to meet somewhere, but on his way, the boyfriend sees a man getting hit by a car. The culprit is the same guy who is at the end of the 'sadness/frustration cycle' also created by the young man . Thus, the cycle of sorrow and joy riding a Domino stairway is brilliantly showcased by the filmmaker in just two shots straight. It is bewildering to see, how, after shaking hands with 15 other characters and traveling through 17 locations, in just two shots, both the cycles meet at the end in an attempt to give a logical understanding to the seemingly absurd human life.

Cast

• Anuradha Chandan as Mother
• Rupesh Tillu as Rickshawwala
• Tushar Joshi as Uncle
• Trishla Patel as the Girl in love
• Parul Bheda as Maidservant
• Induben Mehta as the Granny

Awards & Festivals

(partial list)

• Winner, Best Film (International Short), Syracuse International Film Festival, NY
• Winner, Best Film (Audience Choice Award), shnit shortfilmfestival, Switzerland
• Winner, Best Film of the Year award at the Mocha Film Club, Mumbai
• Official Selection, Tribeca International Film Festival, NY
• Official Selection, Rome International Film Festival
• Official Selection, Indo-British Digital Short Film Festival, India

Music Trivia

• All the soundtracks are original scores composed for the film by Sachin Sanghvi.
• The voices in the songs "Jheeni" & "Red Blossom Cherry" are Sachin Sanghvi, Naresh Iyer and Amit Trivedi.
• "Jheeni" is a modified lyric from the 15th Century mystic poet Kabir's song "Jheeni re chadariya".
• The song "Red Blossom Cherry" is inspired from a Zen Story. In the story, a man is being chased by a vicious snake till he reaches the edge of a cliff. He jumps from the fear of the snake, and clings to a tree. There's a landing ground below, but before he can land, he hears a lion's roar from below. The branch he's clinging to starts dangling. In the midst of all this, he spots a Cherry. He plucks it and eats it. The snake of the past, the lion of the future and the cherry of now!

External links

• Right Here Right Now at the Internet Movie Database
• "Indian Short Film Wins International Award"
• Anand Gandhi's official homepage.
• "Of our time - The Statesman"
• "About the film on filmaholiX"