Ssharad Malhotraa is all set to direct a short film.

The actor will helm a short film as he wanted to pursue a different creative interest after acting for 10 years

After 10 years of his acting career, Ssharad Malhotraa is looking at exploring other aspects of his creative interests apart from acting. He is soon going to direct a short film. “I wanted to do something different. The idea to make a short film came to me from a few true incidents that took place in Mumbai. I thought it would make for an interesting subject. It’s a quirky comedy but it is also dark at the same time,” says Ssharad, who has collaborated with Prateek Chakravorty, grandson of late film-maker Pramod Chakravorty, for the venture.

Prateek had directed Ssharad in From Sydney With Love (2012), which was his first feature film, and they have been good friends ever since. “I share an emotional connect with him as that film was our first project together. Collaborating on this short film with him as the producer and me as a director will be another first for us. My entire team is ready, and we will start shooting in a couple of days in Mumbai,” says the Banoo Main Teri Dulhann actor. Ssharad, who acted in another short film earlier this year, plans to send his directorial venture to various film festivals before releasing it online.

“I have three very successful TV shows to my credit which is why perhaps people feel that (his) turning a director has to be something really cool. That kind of pressure can be scary but I am not feeling any pressure. I never thought of becoming a director. Being an actor, you want to act all the time but the story of the short film compelled me to direct,” says the Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap actor. He and his team have been working on the project for the past six months.

Ask him if he has thought about making a web series and he says, “I have done television shows for 10 years and I have done two feature films in my career, so in the future I would love to do theatre or act in a web series. There is a lot of scope out there for digital content, and I might explore that as well.”

Being an actor, you want to act all the time but the story of the short film compelled me to direct. SSHARAD MALHOTRAA, ACTOR