Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2023 recipient Parshuram Thingnam is set to make his cinematic debut with the short film Toy Gun, which has been officially selected for screening at the inaugural edition of the Hyderabad International Short Film Festival (HISFF) 2025. The film will have its World Premiere at Prasads Multiplex in Hyderabad during the festival scheduled from December 19 to 21, marking its first public screening anywhere in the world. Supported by the Telangana Film Development Corporation in collaboration with the Department of Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture, the festival aims to strengthen India’s short-film ecosystem and encourage creative exchange among emerging and established filmmakers.
Toy Gun is a 14-minute 55-second Manipuri short film that unfolds in a conflict-affected region of Manipur. The narrative follows Leima, played by Leishangthem Tonthoi, a widowed mother struggling with memories of violence, and her six-year-old son Angamba, portrayed by debut child actor Thingnam Parihanba. As the spring festival Yaoshang begins, Angamba longs to own a toy gun like other children, while his mother repeatedly refuses, haunted by her past. When the child eventually obtains the toy gun, his innocent play begins to echo the traumatic memories Leima has tried to bury, gradually blurring the lines between play and pain. Through dreams, rituals and fragmented recollections, the film examines how conflict infiltrates domestic spaces and how mothers strive to protect their children from inherited trauma.
Writer-director Parshuram Thingnam, born in 1989 in Kakching Khunou, is known for his contributions to Manipuri literature and for receiving the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2023. He notes that the film stems from the everyday reality of gun violence in Manipur, where even children mimic a culture they see around them, reminding viewers that a gun—real or toy—is never merely a harmless object. The film is produced by Khumallambam Omeshwori, an Imphal-based first-time producer with an engineering background and founder of Freedom Ekon & Farm House Production.
The film features performances by Leishangthem Tonthoi, Thingnam Parihanba and Irengbam Premananda, with cinematography by Leishangthem Khanganba and camera work by Borlin Chanam. The creative team includes editor Nongthombam Premananda, colourist Anil Usham, sound designer Thingbaijam Ramakanta, musician Akhu Chingangbam, costume artist LLD and make-up artist Rejoice Singh.
