Audiences will remember him as Raju from Leena Yadav’s critically acclaimed film Parched. Chandan Anand as Raju, Bijli’s (Surveen Chawla) panderer and lover, won the hearts of audiences with his sincere performance. Once again, people have applauded the actor for his role as the arrogant writer Nikhil Acharya in I Witness, a short film that has been showing in the international festival circuit.
Festivals such as the Miami Inter-national Science Fiction Film Festival, Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, MAMI and other such fests have recognised I Witness as one of the promising films from India this year. Chandan won the Best Actor Award at the 4th Noida International Film Fest-ival in August. “When I Witness was offered to me, I took it up because I really enjoy working with young talent. This film was made in two days, and I’m happy that it is doing so well across all the film festivals,” says Chandan. The actor goes on to reveal that he hasn’t charged anything for this project. “I usually don’t take money for short films. It’s a medium to showcase talent and get recognised for your work. It would be unfair to charge them,” he says.
Though Chandan has acted in several commercials and television series such as Bhaage Re Mann and Prem Ya Paheli — Chandrakantha, his theatre background proved crucial for him to bag film roles. The actor was spotted by casting director Mukesh Chhabra’s team when he was acting in Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions, and soon after, he bagged the film Parched.
“That was my dream project. Though I had acted in films earlier, it was a different experience working in Parched. I particularly respect Leena (director) for her humility. At the end of the film, she told me, ‘I believe there’s no hero in my film, but you are my hero.’ Her appreciation of my work touched my heart,” reminisces Chandan.Talking about the recent rise in the short films format, he says, “I am proud to have been a part of I Witness. Short films like these are getting many platforms today because if you are able to convey an idea through shorter formats, then why not. This trend is here to stay.”
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