Debut: Kartik Shetty's maiden directorial on mental health, aspiring actors

Drawn from personal experiences, Kartik Shetty's directorial Debut talks about mental health, depression and the struggles of budding actors in the industry. The movie has hit the internet over the weekend.

Mumbai: Debutant director Kartik Shetty has ventured into the world of cinema with his short film Debut, which talks on mental health and the struggles faced by aspiring actors. He said that the movie is a glimpse of what life is for an "outsider" in the film industry.

"Debut is a film that not only gives you a glimpse of what life is for an outsider/struggling actor in the industry, but it also addresses issues like depression, anxiety, and self-deprecation, which almost every other millennial/individual is facing in today's time," Shetty, whose film released digitally over the weekend, told IANS.

The film tells the tale of a depressed aspiring model-actor who is about to commit suicide and tricks his budding filmmaker and best friend into filming it.

When asked about the reason for choosing such a topic for his debut film, he said: "All of us are dealing with our own issues that at times it makes you feel like it is the end of the world. With this film, I wanted to tell people that there always is a way to move ahead in life and not stop. Many of us don't realise the extent of damage we can cause to others by our actions and I wanted to highlight that."

The director stressed that there is still a huge stigma around mental health. The movie is slightly drawn from his personal experiences too, he shared.

"Everyone leaves a part of them in their work and I too have put in a few of my experiences. However, majorly it's based on my actor friends who had to go through similar experiences while looking for work in the industry and how dejected and isolated they felt. Another unfortunate incident I went through, though not directly, was the death of a dear one who committed suicide. The loss to my dear friend was unbearable. What the family went through was just so heartbreaking," he recalled.

Speaking about his next, Kartik said: "I have a web series concept ready with a broad outline for 10 episodes, tentatively titled Wolf Of Patel Nagar. It's a very interesting project based on someone I know in real life but I can't reveal much about it right now. I am also shooting for a Hindi movie song of regional theme and I am also working on my dream project - an Indian superhero film."

With inputs from IANS.