Short films are coming into their own in the growing space of digital entertainment, says actress Pallavi Joshi.
She feels the format has carved its own niche without being compared with a feature film, and that is a positive change towards great storytelling.
Directed by Heena D'Souza, the film has not only received a positive response on the digital platform, but is also nominated for the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018.
Asked if the inclusion of short films in mainstream Hindi film awards is a sign of validation to the format, Pallavi told IANS: "Well, it is a positive sign. I am glad to see that short films are finding new space in entertainment business without being compared with feature films.
"This is new age entertainment where storytelling is celebrated with short films, web series, short video content and more."
Pallavi finds the space of short films interesting, but she believes that one can add an entertainment value to any message for reaching out to the wider audience.
"That is the power of short films. it is a genre where from 3 to 45 minutes, one can choose the length of a story to give out any message without being too direct about it."
Remembering her childhood, she said: "In our school, we had to memorize poems. Now, as a kid, remembering them was difficult, so our parents and teachers used to make those poems like songs. And we used to sing them along without realizing we were memorizing those poems.
"Similarly, when one wants to spread out any message, the best way to do it is to add up entertainment value to it through storytelling. It will become a multi-layered story with a meaningful message."
The story of "Pressure Cooker" revolves around an elderly married couple and how the woman tries to work around the relationship to keep it warm and emotional.
Explaining the analogy of pressure cooker which has been used in the film, Pallavi said: "I found the story very interesting. Like the way instead of throwing away the pressure cooker, Swati (her character) is trying to repair it, in life also she is trying to hold onto her relationship with her husband who is otherwise a noisy, annoying person.
"While the present generation prefers to get rid off any relationship easily, therefore the shelf life of everything is going away. This film talks about how to hold on your things. Your husband might be an annoying man but he is your husband who at the end of the day loves you because you are his wife."