Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Bobby Beauty Parlour explores friendship, departure and short-film ambition
Bobby Beauty Parlour is a short film about two close friends.
One friend decides to leave their town to look for better opportunities.
The other friend feels sad because their friendship and childhood are changing.
The director, Shashwat Dwivedi, made the film with co-writer Janhavi Asthana.
The actresses helped make some conversations feel natural by improvising.
The story is about growing up, leaving home and missing the past.
Filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali supported the film.
Dwivedi believes short films are popular mainly because they help new filmmakers show what they can do.
Bobby Beauty Parlour follows two young female friends as one prepares to leave town for better opportunities.
First-time director Shashwat Dwivedi co-wrote the film with Janhavi Asthana while working on Kennedy.
Adrija Sinha and Parul Rana improvised several scenes, including much of the friends’ extended argument.
Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali backed the film after responding to its themes of leaving home and growing up.
Dwivedi said short films give young filmmakers an outlet when opportunities to direct features are limited.
- Who
- First-time director Shashwat Dwivedi, co-writer Janhavi Asthana, actresses Adrija Sinha and Parul Rana, and supporters Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali.
- What
- The short film Bobby Beauty Parlour portrays two female friends coping with one friend’s decision to leave town.
- When
- The articles do not specify a release date; the film is available on YouTube.
- Where
- The story is set in a beauty parlour, while Dwivedi identifies Kanpur as his hometown.
- Why
- The filmmakers wanted to explore the universal emotions of leaving one’s hometown, friends and family, and the limited opportunities available to young feature-film directors.
Opportunity Gap Explanation
Attention-Span Explanation
Why short films are flourishing
Opportunity Gap Explanation
Shashwat Dwivedi says young people often lack the opportunity and trust needed to direct feature films, so they make short films to present their voices.
Attention-Span Explanation
The interview raises the possibility that shorter formats are growing because audiences have decreasing attention spans, but Dwivedi rejects this as the main explanation.
Short films and short-form viewing
Opportunity Gap Explanation
Dwivedi sees films and short-form videos such as Reels as separate formats, with short films serving as a way for filmmakers to tell complete stories.
Attention-Span Explanation
The alternative view suggests that shorter audience habits could explain the genre’s popularity, though Dwivedi argues that audiences still watch lengthy films when those films deliver on their promise.
- Film
- Bobby Beauty Parlour
- Director
- Shashwat Dwivedi, making his directorial debut
- Writers
- Shashwat Dwivedi and Janhavi Asthana
- Lead actors
- Adrija Sinha and Parul Rana
- Availability
- Available on YouTube
- Supporters
- Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali
- Producer mentioned
- Ranjan Singh