In Shailendra Singh's Kache Din, multiple award winner and India's most beloved theater and film actor, Deepak Dobriyal gives a gripping performance as a migrant taxi driver, barely earning enough to eat on the unfinished, congested streets of Mumbai City. While trying to keep a distance, but ultimately getting pulled in to the lives of his passengers, he also has a run in with a police officer, played by the indelible Yashpal Sharma. Late at night, he shares a harrowing encounter with a slick pimp, Ashrut Jain, and his lady of the night, Teena Singh. A lunch box left behind in the cab leads him to a life-changing encounter the next morning.
"It's called the Maximum City," says Shailendra, "but Mumbai is still a work in progress. The taxi driver knows that each of his passengers is just trying to get by in this struggle of a life, just like he is. They are all just like the city they live in, a little bit raw."
20 International Film Awards & 4 Official Festival Selections :
1. SOUTH FILM AND ARTS ACADEMY FESTIVAL, CHILE :
(a) Best First Film by a Director | SHAILENDRA SINGH
(b) Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film | ASHRUT JAIN
2. TOP SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
(a) Honorable Mention, Indie Filmmaker | SHAILENDRA SINGH
(b) Honorable Mention, Best Actor in a Short Film | DEEPAK DOBRIYAL
3. BEST SHORTS COMPETITION, USA : Winner, Short Films
4. VIRGIN SPRING CINEFEST, USA : Silver Award, Short Film
5. WEBDANCE FILM FESTIVAL : First Time Director Award
6. INT INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS, USA : Silver Winner, Narrative Short
7. HOLLYWOOD JUST4SHORTS : Best Drama Short
8. MED FF FILM FESTIVAL, ITALY : Best Director
9. DADA SAHEB PHALKE AWARD : Special Festival Mention
10. THE NORTHERN VIRGINIA INT FILM FESTIVAL :
(a) Best Director
(b) Best Foreign Short Film
11. MIAMI INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, USA : Feb 2018 Official Selection
12. ACTION ON FILM FESTIVAL : Official Selection
13. HOLLYWOOD DREAMZ INT FILM FESTIVAL : Official Selection
14. GOLDEN GALAXY AWARDS : Nominee, Best Short Film
15. SAN ANTONIO FILM FESTIVAL, USA : Top 5 Short Narratives
16. INDIE GATHERING INT FILM FESTIVAL, USA : Honorable Mention
17. FILMSTRIP INT FILM FESTIVAL, ROMANIA : Official Selection
This short film - directed and produced by Shailendra Singh - tells the reality and creates awareness of the living conditions of migrant workers. Several migrant labourers have lost their lives trying to reach home by road amid the lockdown. Singh says he is heartbroken and hence felt the urge to tell the story.
“We use these poor people to build our lifestyle, our cities, our businesses, and when they are in trouble, we set an agenda to throw them away. If our administration had the minimum compassion to these people, they would have not died on the road. The real dark side of the system has come out this time.”
— Shailendra Singh | India Post. 3 Jun 2020