Bobby Beauty Parlour, a short film that recently premiered on the YouTube channel Oh Short Flips, is a gentle little story about two young women, who drink, cuss, fight, stay quiet, make up and part ways — but not out of choice. Director Shashwat Dwivedi tells us he is fascinated by stories where the conclusion is not natural. He explains, “We had this story of two girls who are trapped inside a beauty parlor, and it's a very hot day. I really enjoy films which do not have a natural conclusion, as if it has been forced on the characters. I like stories where two people meet, but one has to leave, and that is pre-decided. Also, I really like the subject of childhood and growing up. When I look back at my childhood, and that transitionary period — when you are neither a kid nor a grown-up— I feel really intrigued. "
The story came from Shashwat’s cinematographer Janhavi Asthana, who is also the producer for Bobby Beauty Parlour. He recalls, “Janhavi and I had both worked on same projects as assistants, and once we were discussing if we should make anything. We used to write together everday. Janhavi gave a lot of inputs on the characters and then I came in with my ideas. Later, when we were doing workshops with the actors (Adrija Sinha and Parul Rana), the way they spoke in that workshop — listening to that, I went back to the script and incorporated that too in the script.”
This is not Shashwat’s first short though. The filmmaker, who is in still his late 20s, began his artistic journey in his early teens, first with photography and eventually graduating to filmmaking. In the last 15 years, he has made many shorts like Hey Jenny, Icecream, and Paudha. He says, “I was that unbearably pretentious guy in my school — with a photography page on Facebook with all quotes memorised. I also participated in debates and plays. The combination of these two art forms, is filmmaking, right? It felt like a natural progression. I made my first short film when I was 14.”
Shashwat began his film career as an assistant to Anurag Kashyap, working on films like Dobaara, Kennedy, and Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat. The famed filmmaker is also the co-presenter for Bobby Beauty Parlour, along with Imtiaz Ali. Speaking about his learnings from the Bandar filmmaker, Shashwat reflects, “I have never seen anybody so secure and collaborative. A lot of people might pass it off as laziness, but he ensures to find the right person. My biggest learning was how to trust people with their job.”
Talking about how he also became a writer for some of Kashyap films, Shashwat shares an amusing epiphany from his Mumbai journey. “When I came to this city, I found out that I can become a dialogue writer — because the Hindi of people here is so bad, that even a common man from UP could trump them. Plus, I worked with Anurag sir whose training too was in dialogue-writing. So I learnt on the job.”
The filmmaker reflects on his early short films, honestly admitting that he finds some of it cringe, and yet holds it close, adding, “Up to one and a half years ago, I used to look down upon it, and cringe. However, I was in an environment where you have to make a film if everyone else is making it. But recently, I realised that if you are trying to learn an art form, you have to start somewhere. The good and bad thing about my generation is that all our mistakes and achievements are on Internet. I’ve still not deleted my first short film — it serves as a sweet reminder of everything I have learnt from then till now.”
Does going to film school give an aspirant an edge over other filmmaking aspirants, we ask. Shashwat is rather candid as he admits, “My film school barely taught me anything. They told us basics and gave us assignments, that's all. However, what a film school gives you is company of 15-20 people who are just like you. You are suddenly not a misfit anymore. There is a certain cameraderie and healthy envy — all of us pushed each other to make films. It was this healthy competition that kept running the whole thing.”
He also talks about the challenges of being a filmmaker in these times of content bombardment. The fault largely lies with the makers rather than the audience, he asserts, explaining, “It’s not about attention span at all — instead, it’s about delivery of the promise you make. Makers, especially in India, are trying to compete with reels. If you promise me an Odyssey, I won’t sit there and excpect reels. When you sell the film as an amazing cinematic experience, but the shot changes every three seconds, audience feels cheated. Producers need to realise that films and reels are different avenues. People don't have the patience to watch bad films anymore.”
