MUMBAI: Director Taher Ali Baig says he is humbled looking at the response his short film Fitrat has generated. The film stars Sudhanshu Pandey and Rajit Kapur and has been produced by Sudhanshu's Raw Stock Productions. "The response is good, people are appreciating the film. Our hard word has paid off, which feels amazing," he says.

Talking about casting for a Hindu and a Muslim character in the film, Taher says, "Sudhanshu plays a Muslim character and Rajit Kapur plays a character named Vishnu. For me, a character is a requirement of the subject, neither Hindu nor Muslim. Humanity for me is bigger than anything. Character sketch for me while I write or cast has got nothing to do with religion."

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He adds, "I had approached Sudhanshu for this character as he was my first choice. He is good at his job and has blended in the character perfectly. When I approached him with the subject, he decided to produce it."

The short film also has a message for communal harmony. Talking about the same, he says, "I believe in the concept of coexistence, irrespective of faith, race, colour, creed."

Ask him if he finds short films challenging, and he says, "It is very difficult but difficulty is challenging and I like challenges. The content of a story is what decides whether it should be a short film or a feature film or for that matter a play. It is in our creative hands to engage the audience and not let them get distracted by stretching the content that worth for a short film into a feature film. Its tricky but possible!"

The film has also been presented in a lot of film festivals. "We have more than 40 official selections and awards for Fitrat so far," he says.

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