"I felt a tingle in my tear sacs and I knew I was on to a winner." Sharu Delilkan finds out what this Blockhouse Bay man won.
Quitting his senior management job at the Australian Trade Commission has finally paid off for Sandeep Khurana.
When he heard his short film, Tea and Biscuits,
"It's my fourth short film, but the first time I've submitted anything for a competition."
After the shoot, the film's writer, cinematographer, director, editor and producer was convinced he had created something special.
"I felt a tingle in my tear sacs and I knew I was on to a winner."
The Blockhouse Bay movie-maker could have used the full 10-minute duration the competition allows, but chose, instead, to cut his film to an economical seven minutes. "I wanted to create an emotional curve in the shortest possible time to test myself."
The topic - tea and biscuits - is something close to Khurana's heart. "It's a ritual that my wife and I started soon after we got married. It also reminds me of home in India where tea is such an important part of our day."
The father-of-two also says because he wanted to appeal to a younger audience, he cast a little girl in the film. "Kids like watching other kids. And I couldn't have been luckier to get Sylvia Leadley on board. She was so professional, I hardly had to direct her."
Winning the competition means Khurana's also won a ticket to Mumbai where he will get a chance to meet Bollywood's big wigs.
"I'm dying to meet the famous director, Karan Johar, whom I really look up to."
Indian Film Festival 2010 Bollywood and Beyond, Rialto, Newmarket, Apr 14-21. Details, see www.rialto.co.nz
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