17 Best Indian Short Films on YouTube to Watch Now in 2022

We usually love commercials and films that tell a good story. With the rise in popularity of streaming platforms, the perception of entertainment has changed.

Apart from movies, web series has taken an important place that is being loved and greatly admired by the audience.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Videos, Disney+Hotstar, etc., doesn’t stream short films. Here, YouTube has taken its place, and the platform has continued to grow and keep entertaining millions of audiences with videos.

I believe short films are a great form of entertainment. They are short, concise, involve not more than 1-2 characters, and tells a constructive story.

YouTube has plenty of great short films that are entertaining and motivational. Some of them are award-winning and critically acclaimed short films.

During the lockdown, I watched quite a several short films that I can say are the best. In this blog post, I shall be sharing such short films that you can watch in your leisure time.

Best Indian Short Films on YouTube

The Neighbor’s Window

Marshall Curry’s short film “The Neighbor’s Window” won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.

It is an amazing story of a married couple who lives in an apartment with children whose lives got stuck with the parenting duties. They want something more from their life when they saw two free-spirited couples move in across the street.

The ending is emotional and poignant enough to shake up the audience. The movie focuses on how we humans always see the green grass of the other side and judge until we know the truth.

It is a must-watch short film on YouTube.

Chutney

Tisca Chopra and Rasika Dugal starring “Chutney” is a terrific and exceptionally creepy piece of storytelling directed by Jyoti Kapur Das. Both the filmmaking and the extraordinary performance of Tisca Chopra has made “Chutney” one of the best Indian short films ever made.

The story is set in a small town of Delhi middle-class locality where a woman is trying to save her crumbling marriage in an unsettling manner. It is a completely different kind of short film that I have ever watched, and I feel it is way better than watching a 2 hours film.

Interior Café Night

The short film is streaming on YouTube with Naseeruddin Shah, Shernaz Patel, Shweta Prasad, and Naveen Kasturia in the story. The story takes place in a café run by Naseeruddin Shah’s character, which encounters his long-lost love and starts interacting.

The short film is about four characters who lost their love due to circumstances. It’s a sweet one to watch.

Kriti

I love watching Manoj Bajpayee onscreen performing his characters. They are full of surprises. His performance in the short film “Kriti” is outstanding.

It is a psychological thriller exploring the existence of reality vs. imagination. The approximate 20 minutes short film is undeniably one of the best of Manoj Bajpayee that I have enjoyed.

Taandav

The 11-minute short film “Taandav” features Manoj Bajpayee as a constable Devashish Makhija, assigned duty at the Ganapati Visarjan.

By watching the film, it is understood that Devashish might have a tough life where he is struggling, and at the night of the event, he reaches his breaking point.

Manoj Bajpayee is one of the underestimated actors of Bollywood. Even in a short film, he manages to showcase his finest performance and his passion for acting.

If you haven’t yet watched “Taandav,” you must give 11-minutes of your time to this amazing short film. (Underrated Bollywood movies of 2020)

Chhuri

The 12-minutes long short film on YouTube is another entertaining and great film to watch. Here, we have three lead actors Tisca Chopra, Anurag Kashyap, and Surveen Chawla.

The story revolves around Tisca Chopra’s character, who is a wife and knows that her husband is cheating with another woman. The story isn’t a typical one where a wife fights to save her marriage; instead, the plot has an interesting twist.

In every way, “Chhuri” is a short film that is worth watching. Tisca Chopra got accolades for her performances in both the short films “Chutney” and “Chhuri.”

Juice

With an IMDB rating of 8.5, Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Juice” is another of the best short films on YouTube that every woman and man should watch.

Shefali Shah, in the lead, plays a housewife dealing with her household affairs and pleasing her husband’s wishes in a get-together. We all have grown watching our mother doing and preparing everything when a get together happens in our houses.

The short film showcases the patriarchy and misogyny that still exist in every household despite women are achieving par excellence in every field than men.

Watch the short film for Shefali Shah’s terrific performance.

Delivery Girl

BLUSH presents a beautiful short film, “Delivery Girl,” that focuses on modern relationships. A couple living in a posh apartment engaged in an argument where the husband quits his job without consulting his wife.

On the other hand, the wife encounters a delivery girl Supriya, which unexpectedly unknowingly bridges the gap between the couple.

There are several other good short films on their YouTube channel that are great to watch.

Ahalya

Renowned director Sujoy Ghosh’s short film “Ahalya” is an epic short film and one of the best. The story has a blend of suspense, deceit, seduction with an added punch of surprise at the end.

It is a thriller to watch and understand. I won’t disclose the story because I was hoping you could watch it.

Radhika Apte’s performance is short and perfectly to the point. She is one of those actresses in the industry who never shy away from performing most unconventionally.

We also have the legendary late Soumitra Chatterjee in this short film.

The School Bag

“The School bag” is a short film presented by Large Short Films that tells an emotional story of a mother and son based in Peshawar. The Indian short film has also bagged an award at the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal.

Actress Rasika Dugal played the mother in the short film and acted in such a heartfelt endearing manner. She has now become one of the prominent actresses in the industry, especially after her performance in “Mirzapur.”

You should also watch her performance in the award-winning film “Hamid.”

The Gatekeeper

I watched “The Gatekeeper,” directed by Atanu Mukherjee, a few days ago, and I find it very relatable with our modern-day life. It’s the story of a lone gatekeeper of a railway crossing who leads a mundane life. There is no one with whom he can communicate or spend time.

The only moment of buzz in his life are the trains passing by.

There is only one lead character and no dialogue. It’s all visionary that exhibits a deeper meaning to life.

Teaspoon

The award-winning short film “Teaspoon” is a thrill to watch. The story starts from the kitchen where Kavita does all the house chores, but her ailing father-in-law’s constant tapping of teaspoon goes on her nerves.

What happens next is what you should watch.

The short film tells a unique yet creepy story.

Kheer

Anupam Kher’s performance in the 7-minutes short film “Kheer” is such a beautiful story about love, companionship, and age. While watching the film, there will be a gentle smile on your face.

Directed by Surya Balakrishnan, the film got a release by the YouTube channel Terribly Tiny Talkies.  

The Terribly Tiny Talkies often release such beautiful short films that you can watch on YouTube.

Paperman

Disney’s “Paperman” is the best animated short film with a beautiful sweet love story. It is a black and white animated romantic short film that follows a lonely young man traveling by train to work when he met a girl. The young man tries to catch her attention by flying paper aircrafts.

Does she notice him?

If you haven’t watched “Paperman” watch it here, I am sure you will be flattered.

Aai Shapat

I watched the Marathi short film “Aai Shapat” on YouTube presented by Large Short Films. The story tells from the thinking of a kid named Soham whose aunt and uncle came to his house. He is playing cricket with his brother (Aunt’s son) and with the other children of his locality.

His brother took a fake swear on his mother called (Aai Shapat means mother’s swear). There is a belief that no one should ever take a fake or wrong swear on his/her mother; if they do, it will bring bad health to the mother.

The entire short film shows how Soham is restless about his aunt’s health.

Pallotty

“Pallotty” is a Malayalam short film streaming on YouTube, is a reminder of innocent childhood days. The short film showcases two kid’s bonding and friendship in a village in Kerala and their unconditional love for each other.  

The short film also shows the village life and the earthly landscape of Kerala. It shows various small nuances of village life like fish catching with a wooden rod, stream, green fields, etc.

Pencil Box

I watched “Pencil Box,” an Indian short film by Pocket Films, last night. It is such an inspiring film about a family of four who lives in the village of Himachal.

The film tells a story of a joyful little boy who loves going to school with his friend.

The story takes its shape when he is about to be taken away by some eunuchs. The short film also mirrors the unconditional motherly affection and friendship between the two kids.

Watch it here; you will surely love the innocence.

Conclusion:

These are some of the short films that I have watched and would recommend you to watch. There are undoubtedly many more great short films, but I find the above are the best Indian short films on YouTube.