''Chabiwali Pocket Watch'' is a 2006 short film written and directed by

Vibhu Puri Vibhu Virendra Puri (born 28 January 1980) is an Indian director, screenwriter and songwriter. After graduating from Film and Television Institute of India, FTII, he started assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-wrote two of his films; ''Saaw ...

and produced by the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

. The film is set in

Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...

and deals with the story of a romantic Urdu poet, now dying anonymously, and the struggle between his daughter and an opportunist publisher. The film was the official entry from India to the

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first pres ...

. It was also a chosen to be a part of Indian Panorama in 2006. At the

53rd National Film Awards The 53rd National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2005. The selection process of ...

, director Vibhu Puri received the Special Jury Award. In 2013, it was amongst many FTII student films to be telecasted by the state-run

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

channel.

Synopsis

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, the

Hindustani language Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in North India and Pakistan as the lingua franca of the region. It is also spoken by the Deccani people, Deccani-speaking community in the Deccan plateau. Hindustani is a pluricentric language w ...

whose words resonate music, is fast dying. So is Babba, an old Urdu poet who is dying an unknown death. Having shut his eyes to the callous world that weighs art with money, he has woven a charming little world of his own. Babba's state of nonchalant bliss inadvertently drives his daughter Minni into a world of bitter silences. And across the road lives Pappan, a small-time debt-ridden publisher who is eyeing Babba's treasured verses and his beautiful daughter. A self-indulgent, romantic old man, a stoic but essentially soft-hearted daughter and an opportunist but naive publisher. Amidst all this, Babba, Minni and Pappan struggle to keep their culture alive, their ethos alive, their language alive, their love alive, in vain.

Cast

Lalit Mohan Tiwari Lalit Tiwari is an Indian film and television actor. His best-known television roles are that of Sanjaya in the series ''Mahabharat'' (1988–1990), and in the historical television series '' Bharat Ek Khoj - The Discovery of India'' (1988). ...

as Babba * Jameel Khan as Pappan * Gayatri Kachru as Minni

Festivals

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

* Sydney international Film Festival *

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

, Goa *

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at National Film Archive of India, NFAI, INOX Leisure Limited, Inox ...

* International Film School Festival,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

* IAAC Film Festival, NY * KARA, Karachi * JIFF, Jamshedpur * Pulotsav, Pune * SIFF, Seoul * MIFF, Mumbai, ‘08 * Cork Film fest, ‘08

Awards

* Best Feature at IBDA’A Awards,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

* Special Kodak Award for the director at the 13th International Film School Festival,

* Special Jury Award for the director Vibhu Puri,

, 2006 * Winner, Asia Pacific Kodak Filmschool Competition, 2006 * Best Cinematography award in the 'Emerging Filmmakers' section,

: Anay Goswamy

References

External links

* {{IMDb title * https://web.archive.org/web/20110709005140/http://archive.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov292006/national15292120061129.asp * http://paash.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/vibhu-puri-master-storyteller/ 2006 films Indian short films 2000s Hindi-language films 2000s Urdu-language films Student films Films about writers Films set in Delhi Urdu-language Indian films