Anthologies back with a bang on OTT platforms

A blend of multiple short films, the genre is gaining steam on OTT

OTT platforms have sort of led to the resurgence of anthologies, or a number of short films compiled into one full-length film. Over a span of just a year, the web has had at least four such projects, mainly owing to the freedom that creators have to explore.

It started with Lust Stories in 2018, which brought together filmmakers Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap. The anthology got such rave reviews, that it compelled them to reunite for Ghost Stories. Avinash Tiwary, who played the lead in Johar’s segment, says, “I’ve been doing short films for long... When this came up to me with these directors on board, it seemed like a great opportunity to go out there and create something of this quality. Also, you don’t say no when KJo offers something...”

He adds that though there have been Bollywood attempts before, “The beauty of short films is also because of the fact that there is so much content and our attention span has gone down. You need content of shorter duration.”

Different languages too, are exploring anthologies. Putham Pudhu Kaalai (2020) had five short films in Tamil, while Paava Kadhaigal (2020) was made in Telugu.

Unpaused, again in Hindi, brought together five directors to create five stories set in the Covid pandemic. Actor Tannishtha Chatterjee, who directed one of the segments, says making a short story format is always different. “The length always makes you explore a subject in a particular way, even in writing... There is a different way of telling the audience. Because of OTT platforms, different formats are getting explored,” he notes.

Pavail Gulati, who played a role in Ghost Stories (2020), says that as an actor “one does not feel different” when acting in such genre. “You get a lot to do in those 20 minutes. I don’t feel any medium differs into my acting. I am performing the same way,” he ends.