Exclusive! Shaheer Sheikh, Shweta Basu Prasad on working on short thriller-horror, Yatri Kripya Dhyan Dein

Actors Shaheer Sheikh and Shweta Basu Prasad warn the audience about giving a lift to strangers through their new short thriller-horror film, Yatri Kripya Dhyan Dein. The film, which will release on Amazon miniTV, is about Sumit (Shaheer Sheikh) who offers a lift to Nandita (Shweta Basu Prasad), who is stranded on a hillside road after her car breaks down. The two indulge in a conversation that is very likely to freak you out. Actor Shweta Basu Prasad says one must particularly stay away from women in pink dresses and laughs.

In a conversation with OTTplay during a press conference, the actors talked about their highly-awaited film, characters, their work experience and more. Speaking to OTTplay, Shweta Basu Prasad says that she is confident that the audience will love the film. A movie buff herself, she says she decided to do the film as she loved the script and looks at a project like a viewer. "When I read a script, I see if I would like to watch the film as a viewer. I loved the script and characters of Yatri Kripya Dhyan Dein. The story has great potential and it is very engaging. In India, you don't see too many thrillers of this kind being made. The entire film is conversational-based and shot in one setting and location," she says adding that she particularly liked the female representation in the film, which is very rare to see in an Indian thriller.    

Prasad says she enjoys consuming both short format content and feature-length films. "Short films are not recent phenomena. They were, in fact, the first ones in the world of cinema. But yes, it's more commercialised now. If you ask an avid reader, he would say he loves to read both short stories and novels. Likewise, a movie lover will also consume all kinds of formats. It is about the content. And as an actor, my job is to perform between the action and cut. The duration doesn't matter," she says. 

Though shooting for the film was a challenge as it involved telling a story in 17 minutes, the two actors say they didn't find the format to be limiting when it comes to their character arcs or performance. Prasad says the only difference is that the film is short but the rest of the process remains the same. Shaheer, who will be seen in a short film for the first time, adds, "It was challenging but it's not lacking behind on anything. It is on point. Like a film, which has a start, middle and end, this feature too has it. It has a character arc and everything. It's very sharp and crisp."

Prasad also spoke to OTTplay about the scope of OTT. She says she is glad that the industry is now not star-driven but story and character-driven. OTT content has also given many different kinds of roles to actors and helped eliminate being typecast. "OTT offers a great democratic platform and has helped do away with a lot of limitations. There have been many good films, which couldn't be promoted well and by the time, the word of mouth got out and spread, it's out of theatres. With OTT, every artist gets an equal chance and every content gets an equal chance to be out there," says Prasad. She quickly adds that it doesn't mean theatres will cease to exist. She believes all mediums will co-exist as people enjoy watching films on the big screen as well.   

The short, Yatri Kripya Dhyan Dein will release on Amazon miniTV on February 24.