Gul Panag’s ‘Manoranjan’ a spooky tale of practical joke

According to Panag, the seed of the story came to her during the lockdown.

She told IANS: "The very idea of this story came to me during the lockdown when all our life plans got disrupted. Initially, it was just so tough for us to deal with the fact that we do not know for how long we have to stay in that phase. So, when our plans get disturbed, another side of the human mind comes out to execute them.

"In my film, that is what happens to Lalita, the central character. At the same time, she is a practical joker and as we know that practical joke, when played on someone, that person becomes a victim and the person who cracks the joke does that for a pure entertainment purpose.

"So 'Manoranjan' is a combination of both."

While the story is written by Panag, the screenplay is penned by Sukhmani Sadana and the film is directed by Suhail Tatari.

The story revolves around a housewife, Lalita, and what happens when an unwanted guest enters her world and disrupts a plan that she holds very close to her heart after a personal tragedy.

Panag said, "Lalita is an unassuming homemaker who probably does not have any dream of her own because she is raised like that and conditioned that she is not allowed to have dreams.

"When someone like her starts feeling stuck and her small little plan gets disrupted, to what extent she can go? Also, for me, it is important to question do they have their dreams or have they thought that they should never have their dreams and desires? When I was writing the story, these questions were crossing my mind."

'Manoranjan' also stars Satyajit Sharma, Mihir Ahuja and Akshita Arora. The film was released on the official YouTube channel of the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large short films.