<h2>Cheer squad</h2>
Parents cheer during a MSSA boys U-8 final between Campion School and Jamnabai Narsee International School at Azad Maidan
<h2>Renuka Shahane&rsquo;s Looped finds a spot at MAMI Independent</h2>
<img title=" Renuka Shahane" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/dos-fifteen-march-c_e.jpg" alt=" Renuka Shahane" width="1280" height="720" />Renuka Shahane
Renuka Shahane&rsquo;s award-winning animated short Loop Line will screen in Mumbai on March 18 at PVR Lido, Juhu, as part of the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image&rsquo;s Independent Programme.&nbsp;
The film arrives after a successful run at international festivals, including the Dharamshala International Film Festival and the New York Indian Film Festival.
<img title="Stills from Loop Line" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/dos-fifteen-march-b_e.jpg" alt="Stills from Loop Line" width="1280" height="720" />Stills from Loop Line
Set in Mumbai, the hand-drawn animated short follows a middle-aged housewife trapped in a loop of domestic chores and a controlling husband. Her brief escapes come through vivid fantasies until a sexist remark from her husband&rsquo;s friends pushes her imagination toward a darker rebellion. For Shahane, the screening marks a rare moment for adult animation to find a wider audience in India. &ldquo;MAMI Independent is a huge platform for independent producers and filmmakers to showcase their films, which otherwise can be seen only at film festivals,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I think filmmakers are hungry to show their films to an audience keen to see films that might not be conventional or commercially viable.&rdquo;
The film&rsquo;s animation was created by Paperboat Design Studios, founded by Soumitra Ranade, Mayank Patel and Aashish Mall. Actors Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar and Anand Alkunte performed the characters during previsualisation, shaping the final animation.
Shahane hopes the film lingers with viewers long after the screening. &ldquo;I always feel that films should either make you feel or think differently about something that you had a different perspective or experience of.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<h2>Mighty mom crowdfunds short film</h2>
<img title="Mishael Martina Cardoza" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/dos-fifteen-march-d_e.jpg" alt="Mishael Martina Cardoza" width="1280" height="720" />Mishael Martina Cardoza
Mishael Martina Cardoza became a mother back in 2022, at the peak of her career. She had to take a break from her job as an Assistant Director in films, where she worked with directors like Anurag Basu, and Nitish Tiwari. Now with a toddler at home, she wants to get back to her passion and is crowdfunding a short film aptly named, Maternity Break. &ldquo;The budget is around R5 lakhs. The short will look at postpartum depression and the emotional realities of motherhood. It &nbsp;will highlight how a woman&rsquo;s choices are different for every mother, and why these decisions deserve empathy, not judgment,&rdquo; she says. You can connect with Cardoza on Instagram at @martina_motherhood.
<h2>Trueman Leeds the India praise gang</h2>
<img title="Yashvant Cha and Fred Trueman" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/dos-fifteen-march-e_e.jpg" alt="Yashvant Cha and Fred Trueman" width="1280" height="720" />Yashvant Cha and Fred Trueman
Yashvant Chad, a famous Mumbai-based cricket scorer, called us after enjoying a recent piece published in mid-day on two fast bowling greats with contrasting personalities &mdash; &nbsp;Fred Trueman and Jasprit Bumrah. While the late Englishman was not coy to come up with utterances that showed how great a bowler he was, the Indian, who has excelled across formats, is as modest as they come. Chad&rsquo;s call to us was not about what Trueman said about himself when they met after the Leeds Test of 1986, India&rsquo;s first Test victory at the Yorkshire venue. Trueman (Test cricket&rsquo;s first 300-wicket man), in fact, praised the Indians for beating David Gower&rsquo;s team and winning the series with one Test to go. &ldquo;Trueman said he couldn&rsquo;t just believe that an Indian side could beat England in three and a half days with medium pacers in their ranks,&rdquo; Chad told us. Skipper Kapil Dev and his 1983 World Cup teammates S Madan Lal, and Roger&nbsp; Binny formed India&rsquo;s pace bowling attack. Of course, we should also mention that Dilip Vengsarkar helped himself to his second hundred of the series.
<h2>Sindhi stories take stage at NGMA</h2>
<img title="Nikhil Katara" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/mar/dos-fifteen-march-f_e.jpg" alt="Nikhil Katara" width="1280" height="720" />Nikhil Katara
Pahinjo Kirdaar, a one-hour performance of seven monologues written and directed by Nikhil Katara, was staged by the Sindhi Saaz Foundation at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai.
Performed on March 14, the production brought theatre artists Barkha Fatnani, Deesh Mariwala, Monica Mahendru and Nishank Verma. The four stepped into a series of deeply personal monologues rooted in Sindhi culture and lived experience. The performance explored themes that resonate across generations of the community, and about migration, language, family and the Sindhi heritage. For Katara, presenting the show at NGMA added much significance to the stories. &ldquo;It feels truly special. These are simple yet powerful stories of a community that deserve to be told,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Bringing Pahinjo Kirdaar to NGMA is meaningful because it helps people reconnect with their roots and remember where they come from.&rdquo; The director hopes the performance continues to find new audiences beyond this staging.&nbsp;

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