Ajay Govind, an accomplished director and alumnus of Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication (AIMC), has directed feature films, short films, music videos, and several documentaries. The award-winning filmmaker now brings his latest short film Basanti Tailors, a heartfelt tale set in rural Dehradun. Produced by Drishyam Films and Azim Premji Foundation, this film has also been selected to be featured in Chicago South Asian Film Festival 2025, Bengaluru International Short Film Festival 2025, to name a few. Let’s read edited excerpts of his interview to understand the inspiration behind creating this short film:
Tell us about your short film ‘Basanti Tailors’. What was the core idea or inspiration that sparked this short film?
Set in rural Dehradun, Basanti Tailors is the story of a young girl (Ginny) who falls in love with a t-shirt that her grandmother (Basanti), a tailor, has been asked to recycle. The t-shirt belongs to Aryaveer who, along with his mother Anupama, has recently moved into the village from Delhi. Basanti finds out that Aryaveer loves the t-shirt even though he has outgrown it, but sees that Ginny is obsessed with the image of the tuk-tuk on it. The film explores if and how Basanti manages to resolve this tug-of-war involving the used t-shirt.
At the heart of it, the film is a celebration of the resilience of a woman who lives and runs her own business in a rural context. And a reminder that repurposing is and needs to be more than just a modern/urban fad.
How did you decide on the medium of a short film instead of a feature-length narrative for this story?
For me, the first criterion when I’m figuring that out is what I want to say. And in this case, I felt like everything I wanted to say, I could do within the space of a short film. In a feature film, I would have had to bring in more elements that may distract from the central idea of Basanti Tailors. Needless to say, the fact that it’s relatively easier to get a short film made than a feature-length film was also an important factor.
What message or emotion do you hope audiences take away after watching it?
I hope the film brings a smile to the faces of audiences. I wish it gives them a sense of hope. But also, I hope they pause and reflect on their relationship with the idea of recycling/ circularity and see how they are engaging with these concepts in their own life, given their realities and circumstances.
Were there any particular challenges during the shoot that tested your creativity or patience?
We had to shoot the film in a very limited amount of time, as opposed to what was originally planned. And it’s always a challenge to work against the constraint of time. Especially in winter, with shorter days. To make things worse, our shoot did get impacted by a few hours of rain. But I’m grateful that I work with an incredible team that’s always focused on ensuring we achieve timelines. So it pushes people creatively, but it’s rarely a test of patience.