Chopra Jonas, V, and Scott Back Oscar-Qualified Indian Short Film

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, playwright V, and actor Andrew Scott have joined the executive producer team for "We Were Here." The Indian short film is now qualified for Academy Award consideration. The three names will help promote the project during the upcoming awards season.

The film is a mockumentary written and directed by Pranav Bhasin. It is set in a small Indian town where three retirees believe machines are taking their jobs. They stage a protest by dressing as household appliances. The plan falls apart when one of their children starts working for an artificial intelligence company.

Satish Kashyap, Devendra Dodke, and Arindol Bagchi lead the cast. They play Mr. Bagchi, Mr. Pimple, and Mr. Ganguli. Shubham Kujur, Kalpana Gagdekar, and Yash Gonsai also appear in the film. Gonsai produced the project through Sunshine Pictures with Dheer Momaya and Dar Gai. Aarti Lohia and SPLF Media present the work.

The short has screened at more than 80 festivals. It has collected over 20 awards. It premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, where it won the Canal+ Prize. At SXSW, it took the audience award for best narrative short and the Redbreast Unhidden Award.

Palm Springs International ShortFest named it the best live-action short under 15 minutes. It also won the best comedy short category. That specific win made the film eligible for Oscar consideration. The New Yorker acquired the rights to the short and will premiere it on its YouTube channels.

Chopra Jonas said the film offers a witty take on a timely subject. She joined to amplify the creative team and ensure their vision gets attention. Bhasin, a Mumbai filmmaker, started directing at age 13. He made his first TV series for TVF by 17.

His 2017 short "Wolf of Chawl Street" won the Silver Dimensions prize at the Mumbai film festival. "New Year’s Eve" was named best short a year later. His other works include "Taylor’s Version" and "Screaming on the Fly." He is an alumnus of the Vanishing Angle Short-to-Feature Lab and the Zurich Film Festival Academy.

Bhasin said the story began as a silly idea about uncles stopping AI. He fell in love with the characters and their resilience. He noted that reality in India is often stranger than fiction. The mockumentary format allowed him to keep the film rooted in real people and places. Gonsai previously worked on "Last Film Show" and "Homebound," both of which made Academy Award shortlists.