Wannabe directors seem to test the waters with short films and some of them have gone on to make a name on the big screen as well. Perhaps that is why short-filmmakers are dime a dozen in Indian cinema and quite a few have a dedicated following too. The latest to join this group is actor Ansiba Hassan. The young artiste shot to fame with her role in Drishyam , and then could not follow it up with memorable roles. She has now directed a short film, A Live Story .
Slated to release next week, the short is based on a real-life incident. “Social media brings with it a lot of problems. Women are often at the receiving end of vulgar comments and posts. I went through such a harrowing experience,” she says. The short is about an actor Laya who tackles an online abuser in a rather interesting, but effective way.
Ansiba, currently pursuing the final year of her course in visual communication in Coimbatore, has made the short film as part of her college project. “I could have made one on my mobile phone. But those who worked with me, especially the crew of Flowers TV where I have been hosting Comedy Super Nite , insisted that I should make a proper film,” says Ansiba.
Impressive cast
Many crew members of Comedy Super Nite have worked in this film. The film, just under seven minutes long, has Mareena Michael Kurisingal, Kalabhavan Prajod, Pauly Valsan, and Anjana Appukuttan in the cast. Ansiba says that all these actors, all veterans in the field, were very cooperative and encouraged her a lot.
Ansiba Hassan with the cast of A Live Story
“The only thing I could bank upon was my passion for cinema. I always watched a film in its totality, paying attention to details such as background score, camera angles, edits and many other aspects. I have written scripts as well,” she says. In fact, she had written a script with Urvashi as the leading lady. Urvashi had even agreed to do it. But due to some unforeseen circumstances the project didn’t take off.
Ansiba Hassan on the set of A Live Story
Ansiba , a native of Kozhikode, says that she became an actor because of her mother, Rasiya Valiyapurakkal. “But I had never participated in youth festivals. I had no clue about make-up or acting. The turning point was when I took part in a reality show, Screen Test , aired on Asianet Plus. I was chosen the popular actress!” she says. She debuted in Tamil industry but box office success eluded her until Drishyam happened. Although her career didn’t take off as expected, she isn’t complaining. “Right now I want to finish the course. And after doing this short film I want to direct movies and I have a script in my mind.”
