Exclusive! Srishti Shrivastava believes a morally flawed character is as real as that of a righteous one in films

Srishti Shrivastava, who appeared in the short film Dhavak also says that not every film or series can be a medium to deliver a social message. At times, a film should be watched as a form of entertainment

Actress Srishti Shrivastava

While the woke audience and a section of filmmakers emphasised making and watching the film as a tool for delivering a message and conversation starter for social change, isn't cinema aiming to purely entertain first, for the major part of the audience before anything else?

Considering the fact that cinema is one of the most powerful, impressionable, accessible media for everyone, and now all the more because of the boom of multiple OTT platforms, undoubtedly, the impact of films be it a short or feature and web series, has multiplied.

It is no surprise then that in recent time, so many female-led films and shows are being made and many of them of stories of inspirational female sports stars, a genre that was under-explored earlier.

As the audience is also growing and getting exposed to international cinema, it is interesting to notice how, these days, audience notices every single character in a film/show with their moral compass on.

So the question naturally arises what is the responsibility of cinema and web series now?

Young actress Srishti Shrivastava, who became popular for playing the character of Albina opposite Alia Bhatt in the film Gully Boy, and Guddo in Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulabo Sitabo, recently appeared in a short sports drama called Dhavak.

The film not only questions the social system that expects the girl to compromise on her dream, especially if she is a female athlete, but also the age-old tradition of dowry that the groom's family demands from the bride.

Post the release of the film on Amazon miniTV, the story and performance of the actress struck a chord with the audience.

While having a conversation with OTTplay, Srishti was asked her opinion on the role and responsibility of cinema in our society.

The actress said, " Of course the impact of cinema is undeniable. As a child, we all have grown up watching happy-ending love stories and later after our first heartbreak we got angry with the film more than our boyfriends saying why the film says they live happily-ever-after. There is nothing like that! But, on a serious note, we have to grow up understanding that films are stories."

Srishti continued, " If sometimes, in a film, we see a character that is morally problematic, or even the story is morally problematic, it is still a story. A story can be watched a story with all its characters. And not every film will deliver the message but just entertain. For example, when we watch a film like Hera Pheri, Bhagam bhaag, Bhool Bhlaiya - are we trying to look for a message? No, we just watch the film, enjoy and get entertained, because we can watch a film just like a film without thinking too much of its message, morality etc."

The short film Dhavak is directed and produced by the debutant filmmaker Abhishek Sharma, the film also features actor Vaibhav Talwar.

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