Inspired by a true story about a mother, her son and their maid who tend to their beloved garden forms the crux of the movie by Vir Hirani, Raju Hirani’s son. The 14-year-old boy debuts with Return Gift which is being screened in the 18th International Children's Film Festival of India.
Vir makes his directorial debut with the movie which is in the Little Directors’ category at the ongoing fest in Hyderabad.
The Little Directors’s category is an In-Competition category which features films made by children between the ages of six and sixteen. Vir’s movie is one among eleven other films in the same category. The short film is made by Vir along with his batch mates Gia Arora, Jashan Arora, Aviral Shukla and Arman Talkar. “We were involved in different aspects — stills, location scouting, production, assistant direction, etc,” says Vir duly crediting his team. He himself was in charge of direction, photography, and editing of the movie. Vir adds, “ Return Gift is inspired by a true story which shows my grandmother’s wisdom. She had narrated this incident to me and I vowed to portray it in the form of a film someday. The Golden Elephant has further encouraged me to make this sooner and better than planned.” He further adds, “The only involvement of adults consisted of the cast. Children managed all the other arrangements, like I said earlier.”
Explaining the story of the movie Vir says “ Return Gift revolves around a mother, her son and their maid who tend to their beloved garden. The son loves doing yoga and the mother loves her garden. Then an irritating neighbour comes along on the first floor who dumps her trash on the garden. The maid and son respond with rage much to the chagrin of the mother who responds with an unusual gift to the neighbour. Sometimes, silence speaks the loudest. That is what the film is about.”
So, yet another Munna Bhai style solution? “Wait and watch,” is all he says.
