Filmmaker Siddhant Shelar (left) with Naseeruddin Shah (centre) and a friend

What does one do when breathing becomes equivalent to smoking? When there seems to be no relief despite months of suffering? We asked a filmmaker, and he asked Naseeruddin Shah!

Siddhant Shelar is a copywriter and filmmaker. For his debut though, he chose to go out with a bang. Frustrated with the AQI skyrocketing around him, he decided to make his first short film AQI: Yeh Q Hai about that same subject. The coolest part? He cold-emailed acting legend Naseeruddin Shah to be part of his film and he said yes!

“There is a theory that you’re only six people away from someone,” says Shelar, “I have seen many dreams, like I’ll reach out to Sachin Tendulkar,” he says in a comical voice, “But when you send out a mail like that, you don’t expect to hear back. But I’m delulu. I knew I was only six handshakes away from him [Shah].”

Shelar’s short is a PSA which compares the AQI to how many cigarettes you’re inadvertently smoking. Along with a film, he starts a mission asking his viewers to mass-mail the Ministry of Environment and demand some accountability. His film sits at 30,000 views on Instagram on the day of release. 

We ask Shelar what it was like working with a legend? “He has this aura; you get intimidated. But his humility overtakes everything. We constantly hear complaints of nepotism in Bollywood. But he is gracious enough to give anyone a chance,” says Shelar. 

The funniest anecdote from set? “I wanted to get a terrace shot of him like in A Wednesday [2008]. We couldn’t manage that, so we decided to shoot indoors,” Shelar says, “Sir said, ‘Why don’t you take a low angle?’ and just in the flow I said, ‘We can try it but I don’t think it’ll work’. He asked, ‘But why?’ The moment I said it I thought, ‘What have I said?’.” You don’t leave Naseeruddin Shah unanswered, so Shelar explained, “You take lower angles to show a villain, to make him seem scary. But we wanted to show him as a common man, so I wanted to meet his eye level.” Shah did oblige, but Shelar still doesn’t know what he thought. He’s too nervous to ask anyway.  

“We all have ideas sitting in our notes apps. We keep saying, ‘Someday I’ll make it.’ Today, I’m in that timeline of my life,” he says with a beaming smile. If you haven’t already, check out his film on Instagram @ahyperactivepsyche and tap on the link in his bio to join his mission.

What is next for him? “I want to give space to people and NGOs who have been working on this cause for longer me. I have mailed dozens of them. My dashboard on Instagram is at 4 lakh views right now and I only have 1000 followers. I can give NGOs eyeballs.” If you’re an NGO that wants to connect with him, you can reach him on Instagram.

Mumbai: A social media post by actor Deepika Padukone flagging Mumbai's deteriorating air quality sparked a public discussion and prompted mayor Ritu Tawde to respond.

Posting a screenshot of the city's air quality index (AQI) on her Instagram story on Thursday and tagging BMC, Padukone wrote: "The city (& its children) are choking. How is this okay?"

As the post quickly gained traction, Tawde said the civic body is aware of citizens' concerns over worsening air quality. "It is not just Padukone. We are taking cognizance of concerns raised by all Mumbaikars," she said. She acknowledged that AQI levels in the city have risen, adding that BMC is continuously reviewing the situation.

According to Tawde, the civic body has already issued standard operating procedures to builders and contractors, mandating measures to curb dust and pollution at construction sites. "We have also asked developers to install digital display boards showing air quality readings. If the prescribed norms are not followed, BMC is issuing stop-work notices, not just to private developers but also to govt projects," she said.

On Central Pollution Control Board's app, Sameer, Mumbai's AQI on Friday was at 95—falling within the ‘satisfactory' band—while private air quality monitoring platform aqi.in recorded 150 (moderately polluted).

Experts said the low visibility Mumbai had been facing for the past few days was owing to smog. "Low visibility during the morning hours is likely due to rising moisture levels, which lead to mist formation. If pollutants get trapped within this mist, it can result in such conditions," said a weather official.