Nitin Baid Says Vishal Bhardwaj Played Pivotal Part in Chashma: ‘He Suggested We Decrease…’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:November 04, 2024, 13:20 IST

Nitin Baid, the editor of Masaan (2015) and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), made his directorial debut with the short film, Chashma.

I fix my specs as I watch Nitin Baid’s debut project, Chashma, for the second time. This time around, I am aware of the turns the short film is going to take. However, this time, with a lot more clear lens, I decided to pay extra attention to the details, the layering and the second time around, I still am moved by the filmmaking and narration. Chashma does that to you, in just 20-odd minutes. So much so that it feels like an antithesis of Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl’s Chillar Party (2011). When I tell this to Nitin, in an exclusive chat for News18 Showsha, I can hear the excitement in his voice.

We compare both the films over an audio chat and soon, deep dive into the making of the film. Nitin confesses that when Chillar Party was being made, he was convinced that one day, whenever he explores the idea of making a film, he would make a film that’s something on the lines of Chillar Party. Coincidentally, it became his debut directorial project. He tells us that Chashma, which debuted at MAMI Film Festival 2024 last month, intertwines memories of his childhood and his work as a storyteller.

The film, for those who are yet to watch it, is set in Mumbai, in the year 1992 and revolves around a school student who has issues in his vision. He struggles to read the black board, his compromised vision also comes in the way of his television viewing and eventually, he learns that his bad eyesight had been causing a massive blind spot — both at home and in school — which changes his life forever. He eventually decides to clear his vision — practically and metaphorically. Konkona Sen Sharma, Shishir Sharma and Ayan Khan star in the film.

Nitin tells us that growing up, he also struggled with his vision, which became the base of Chashma’s story. “The core idea comes from a very personal space. While growing up, I couldn’t see the blackboard for a good amount of time, and I was afraid of wearing specs because I was afraid of being bullied in the class and being called chashmesh. For almost for six to eight months, I wasn’t telling anyone (about my vision issues). I was seated away from the front bench and copied notes from the person sitting next to me. Eventually I got specs, and my mom figured out and everything happened. And eventually that thought that ‘why did I do that’ sort of stayed with me for a really long period of time, and I always wondered what if I was in a situation where I had witnessed something and was put in a position where I was questioned as to what I have seen and whatever I would say would affect someone’s life in some ways, and that was the stemming idea from me,” he says, talking about the idea of Chashma.

“I wanted to take the whole idea of seeing on a metaphorical level, because I wasn’t interested in just talking about like a kid who’s not able to see and he’s finally able to see and like, this happens. My idea was like, ‘Do we really see things for what they are?'” he shares. Nitin, who has been a part of the edit team of films such as Gully Boy (2019), Masaan (2015) and Raazi (2018), adds that he wrote the story during the pandemic. He wanted to incorporate several aspects, including the style of news reporting and narrative, children imbibing the thoughts of descrimination from the world around them and more.

The film has received praise from critics who watched it during MAMI. Producer Dimpy Agrawal, founder of Gubbara Entertainment, shares that even the audience enjoyed watching the film. Recalling her visit to the theatre that was playing the film during the acclaimed Mumbai film festival, Dimpy shares, “It almost felt surreal, because there were giggles and there were gasps when the duster was thrown at the other character, and everyone just in the theater went like (gasps) and then that felt like, okay, they felt something. You could feel the audience being anxious and slowly, slowly becoming uncomfortable. And being on the edge of the seat, that felt like a really good feeling, that okay, they felt something. And I think while we make anything that we make, and if an audience feels something is half the work that’s done.”

Nitin adds that he has shown to film to everyone possible. He confesses he’s shown the film to people like Zoya Akhtar, Alankrita Shrivastava, Namrata Rao and Reema Katgi. “Everyone who has watched the film, have connected deeply with the film,” he shares. However, Nitin reveals that he showed various versions of the film to director Vishal Bhardwaj.

The filmmaker and the producer share that Vishal gave him an important feedback that impacted Chashma’s duration and narration. “His feedback on the first cut was decrease the race,” Nitin shares, explaining that there was a second race seen in the film. “He very kindly watched it, and he loved the under layers, the undertones, the subjects, all of it. But his note was that there was a second race. Can we do something about it? And of course, like Nitin took the note and worked on it. Vishal has watched multiple versions of cut, and he had some notes and on dialogues also that Nitin worked on. He’s been instrumental in shaping the film the way it has come up right now,” Dimpy shares.

Although it was a short film, Dimpy confesses she wanted Nitin to explore a possibility of a feature film. Nevertheless, they are happy with the way Chashma turned out. After the film won hearts at MAMI 2024, Nitin and Dimpy reveal that they plan on taking the film to a few more film festivals. “After MAMI, the film is going to Dharamshala, we are applying to a bunch of festivals but we want to get into conversations for OTT and package it (accordingly),” the duo shares.