The hunger for fame, the death of single-screen theatres and the decline in filmmaking: these are some of the subjects tackled by Oshomapto over 27 minutes. The Bengali film can be watched on Pocket Films’ YouTube channel.

Starring Jammy Banerjee, Avishek Roy and Riya Paul Saha, Oshomapto examines the decline of the film industry through a conversation between a journalist and a disillusioned filmmaker who hasn’t made a movie in over a decade. Where are the Satyajit Rays and Ingmar Bergmans of today, the director asks. He scoffs at how 50-year-old actors are playing college students and heroes are throwing punches that defy the laws of science. He spends his days drinking while others eat popcorn and watch bad films in multiplexes.

Soumyodeep Banerjee’s short film claims to have been inspired by Ritwik Ghatak’s final release Jukti Takko Aar Gappo (1977). The film examines the socio-political landscape of Bengal through an alcoholic intellectual, played by Ghatak.