Divya Khosla starrer short film by Odisha boy taking internet by storm!

Bhubaneswar: Odisha boy Ashish Panda is certainly making inroads into Bollywood as his latest short film featuring Divya Khosla Kumar, who is known for her directorial debut ‘Yaariyan’, is getting good response on YouTube.

The trailer of the 20-minute-long film Bulbul, produced by T-series, was released on Thursday and it shows the Bollywood actress-filmmaker is essaying the role of a funny, quirky and mischievous girl.

Her character (as Bulbul) has a tagline that goes like “Thodi si sweet, thodi si spicy but always full of masti!”

Till the filing of the report, the trailer had been viewed over 1.8 million times and has been shared over 100 times. More than 446 comments for the video are full of praises for Divya’s look and character.

Speaking to OST, the feisty actress said: Through this short film we are trying to tell a beautiful story which every youth in our country can relate to and enjoy. The movie was beautifully directed by Ashish with whom I share a good camaraderie for long.”

 

In the trailer, there is no dialogue and when asked why, the director said it was a well-thought out plan to create curiosity among viewers.

Explaining about Divya’s character, Ashish said: “She behaves in a very unusual way which will bring a smile on your face. She is also left heartbroken when her lover leaves her for another girl. But she is not what you think.”

When asked what made him to make a shot film even after working as associate director for many big Bollywood ventures, the 38-year-old said he loves to experiment before going solo for a full-length feature film.

Besides, there are different well-known film festivals now promoting good short films than earlier, he added.

‘Bulbul’ also stars Shiv Pandit, Elli Avram, Anang Desai, Yogesh Tripathi, and Kanika Dang. The entire film was shot in Shimla.

The film, written by late veteran filmmaker Kundan Shah, will be releasing on December 7.

Prior to this, Ashish has directed the beautiful romantic music album “Kabhi Yaadon Mein” for T-series sung by Arijit Singh and Palak Muchhal.

The title track featuring Divya, in just 12 hours, had got 1.5 million views.

Further describing about his journey in Bollywood, Ashish said it all started when he was working as an Assistant Director for Salman Khan-starrer ‘Lucky- No Time For Love’ and that was the beginning of his association with T-series.

After that, he has been an associate director in Divya Khosla’s movies “Yaariyan” and “Sanam Re”.

Hailing from Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda, Ashish left for Mumbai in 1999 dropping his Mechanical Engineering degree mid-way when he didn’t get enough support from family.

“I always wanted to make films but the encouragement was not so great. It was difficult initially but I kept going and found some opportunities. Finally, Divya Khosla Kumar helped me grow as a filmmaker,” said Ashish, the son of Pitabas Panda, a coal mines officer in Odisha.

Talking about his upcoming projects, the young filmmaker said he is busy with pre-production of Gulshan Kumar biopic titled ‘Mogul’ to be directed by Subhash Kapoor, that will have superstar Akshay Kumar play him on screen.