Actor Kirti Kulhari is currently seen in Amazon mini TVs latest short film - The List, which is a commentary on how robotic our human lives have become and also how mechanical life may sound harmless concepts but is capable of killing us, slowly. The film that is part of the Mini Movie Festival line-up gives a glimpse into the lives of a young couple in their early 30s played by Kirti and Angad Bedi.
This couple, tired of their mundane routine and almost robotic life, reaches a point where they find themselves lacking emotions. However, a few decisions and unnerving turns in their monotonous life bring up emotions that have been buried in deep, dark corners. In an interview with Outlook, Kirti talks about why this project is more relevant today now than ever.
“I think if we don’t wake up then it's going to be even more relevant in the coming future. We are sort of moving towards a lifestyle that is consuming us in ways. the mundane and mechanical nature feels harmless but I think that’s something that is slowly entering our systems and just kind of taking the humanness out of us and creating the walking, eating, and breathing zombies out of us. I think that’s not what it means to be humans,” she tells the writer.
Kirti says that our lives are dictated by technology, and revolves around social media. “These are the things that are taking us away from ourselves and we need to wake up sooner and later."
Talking about how the digital age has taken over the charm of living in the moment, Kirti says, “We are getting overpowered by the whole digital age that is building around us. Yes, it helps us connect, communicate and express ourselves but there is another dark side to it which people don’t realize and they get consumed by it.”
The idea of technology is to use it for your benefit, she says.“It is to help our lives become better and more meaningful but I think what is happening is it is taking over and when technology takes over, you are controlled as it starts making choices for you, and it's scary. This is the time we need to step back and really contemplate our choices,” she says.
The actor agrees that we all as human beings need validation. However, for her, now social media took validation to another level which is very very unhealthy.
“We see a lot of things going wrong. It's like trans and you need to sort of break out of that trans but it's not easy because everybody is doing it. But just because everybody is doing it, it doesn’t mean it's good and it's healthy so you have to really filter. Your sole responsibility is to take care of yourself and your life,” she says.
Kirti says that through this film, she wanted to talk about the robotic and mechanical nature of human beings that is increasing day by day and taking over the world. “It is like slow poison,” she sums up.
The short film is directed by Gaurav Dave. And produced by Roy Kapur Films and is streaming now for free on Amazon miniTV within the Amazon shopping app
