PARSIPPANY — Parsippany resident, Mahat Jalan, is the lead role in a short American film made recently on “depression.” The film “Tehravin” is about the mourning death of a relationship. Directed by Kartik Swaminathan.
Mahat Jalan, son of Pramodbhai Jalan, an insurance agent had left his professor job in an Ahmedabad college and came to Parsippany in search of finding an emotional space for himself as a budding actor.
This short film had been featured in the New York Lift-Off Film Festival 2020.
Jalan studied in GD Arts college Palanpur and Mehsana and later came to Ahmedabad and was a professor in a college. Teaching hardly engrossed him. Restless he knew there was more to him than merely teaching others. He wanted to be an actor that was bubbling in him and trying to gain prominence. So he left Mehsana for foreign shores to showcase his talent. After studying for a while the genre of American films he knew he could express his emotions.
After seeing his zeal for acting two youths one from Mumbai and another from Israel Jalan came forward to produce this film on “depression” and Mahat seemed to fit the lead role.
His role is simply to express his depression of losing his wife without speaking a word. And he does that very appropriately.
The film is based on the Hindu ritual where twelve days of mourning is common following death. This same theme brings out the best in Mahat when his wife leaves with her boyfriend after divorcing him.
For twelve days he keeps putting a cross on the calendar for each day of showing his sadness. On the 13th day, he comes out of depression despite having lost his wife to another man and is relieved of his misery as the future awaits him.
This short film has been hugely welcomed in social media and then it got pride of place in New York Lift-Off Film Festival 2020.
The film is written, edited, and directed by Kartik Swaminathan Venkatraman.
