Anurag Kashyap’s Oh Short Flips Channel Adds ‘Bhed, Bakri, Bhoot’

Indian filmmakers Abhishek Chaubey and Navdeep Singh will present director Shivam Shankar’s short film “Bhed, Bakri, Bhoot.”

The film is set to premiere globally on Sept. 24 on YouTube channel, Oh Short Flips, curated by Indian auteur Anurag Kashyap.

Mumbai-based filmmaker Shankar produced the short alongside Ranjan Singh and RG, in addition to writing and directing it.

The story opens with a jilted brass band player scrawling an angry note about his ex on the wall of a public restroom. The gesture sets off a chain reaction, as a parade of strangers begins scribbling their own complaints, anxieties and grudges across the same tiles. The graffiti multiplies until no one notices the restroom itself is falling apart, until municipal officials arrive on the scene.

“What I loved most about ‘BBB’ is Shivam’s modern approach to the narrative and the fact that it is so enjoyable, yet so disturbing. I am sure the audience will also like the film as much as I did,” Chaubey said.

The film stars Vandana Joshi, Prasanna Bisht, Apeksha Iyer, Naseem Mughal and Rishi Solanki.

“‘Bhed, Bakri, Bhoot’ is acutely observed, astutely directed, and insanely relevant to the times we find ourselves in. It’s a wonderful short film that’s both intelligent and wickedly entertaining,” Singh said.

On the festival circuit, the short played the 29th Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Roma Short Film Festival and the Best of India Short Film Festival, along with IFFSA Toronto, Yellowstone International Film Festival, Tirana International Film Festival and Tokyo International Short Film Festival.

Its awards haul includes second-best film honors at IDSFFK, best editing at Tokyo International Short Film Festival, best short film at IFFSA Toronto and best Indian short film at Yellowstone International Film Festival.

Shankar, who studied film direction at AAFT and previously wrote for Netflix series “Saare Jahan Se Accha: The Silent Guardians,” uses the film to examine how the noise of everyone airing an opinion can crowd out any real sense of shared responsibility.

“The film is my attempt to look at India without any filters, the everyday politics we live through in society, told through a raw, unguarded gaze,” Shankar said.

“I’m deeply grateful to the presenters who’ve championed this film, and to the producers who helped bring it to life. To my producers RG, Ranjan Singh, and also Mann Gera, thank you for believing in this. To all my actors, who trusted me with their craft, and to every artist across departments who gave more than I could have ever asked for, thank you for making the film what it is. I hope it makes the audience look a little closer at the world around them,” he added.

“Bhed, Bakri, Bhoot” marks the third title on Oh Short Flips, following “Incognito,” presented by Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, and “Bobby Beauty Parlour,” presented by Imtiaz Ali and Kashyap.