In Nitin Baid’s Chashma, we open ourselves to the poignant story of 11-year-old Supriyo, who faces challenges at school due to his poor vision. The Konkona Sen Sharma, Shishir Sharma and Ayan Khan-starrer, which will première at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival on October 22, explores Supriyo’s journey towards self-acceptance. Baid admits that for the short film, he drew from his own life. “Personal is always universal,” he smiles.
 
“I was in class five or six, and I couldn’t see the blackboard for long. I was afraid of telling anyone because I was afraid of getting bullied. I used to copy from the guy who used to sit next to me, and I would watch TV exactly like the character does. Today, you see a lot of kids wearing glasses, but that was a different era. At that time, I used to be worried, [that if I wear glasses], I will be judged as a kid and people are going to call me Chashmish. For five-six months, I didn’t tell anyone that I couldn’t see the blackboard. Those months stayed with me personally. [After growing up], I always wondered as to why I did that. What if something important happened in that period of time? That kept me thinking,” says Baid, the editor of Masaan (2015) and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), of his maiden directorial venture.

Konkona Sensharma