A sudden idea, a few good friends, a supportive bunch of teachers and hard work - that is the story behind NIYATI-Destiny, a film by students of BDM International that has bagged the Best Short Film (Jury) award in the students' section at the 6th Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2016.

The 30-minute film is "all about second chances". "When the idea came to me, I jotted down some points and narrated it to classmate Souhitya Sar, who wrote the screenplay for the film. We had 10 days to shoot and we chose Elliot Park near the Maidan," said director Ayush Bhattacharya, a Class XII student, who swears by Krzysztof Kieslowski, a filmmaker he was introduced to by one of his tuition teachers.

Souhitya recounted how Ayush came and narrated the story to him one evening. "I really liked it. And when our mass media teacher told us about the festival, we decided to get the film ready in a fortnight and send it too," he said. His inspiration: films like Fight Club and Inception.

Along with Ayush and Souhitya were three other friends - Srinjan Pratap who did the editing, Sabarni Dasgupta who did the art designing and Deep Mondal, the director of photography.

Niyati tells the story of a magician who is losing his memory when he meets a child fascinated by magic.

Indrajit Roy, physics and chemistry teacher at BDM International, played the magician. "I have worked in TV as well as theatre. In school, I was part of a drama community. I have worked with Ayush and Souhitya in two or three plays before. So, when the project came up, Ayush very naturally came to me," said Roy, who balanced his time between shooting for the film and checking CBSE answer scripts. "It was really refreshing working with them. It was a great learning experience and I must say that these kids are way ahead of their age. While working on the film, I became 22 and they became 45."

For Roy, the best thing about the film is its vulnerability. "The film is like a child who sometimes asks a question in a wrong way, but the question nonetheless is relevant and hence startles adults. One could find a lot of faults in the film, but the effort is really honest," the teacher-turned-actor said.

Of the 800 entries at the festival, 285 short films, documentaries and music videos were officially selected and 147 of them screened.

Attending the festival itself was an amazing experience for the students. "This was my first time at a film festival and there weren't many amateurs there and we were absolute beginners. I remember a Russian filmmaker asking us to give him our cards. We had to tell him we didn't have any. An Italian filmmaker clicked a photo with us in front of our film poster," Ayush said.

Souhitya never thought about the award even after sending the film to the festival. "I enjoyed working on the project, it was a fabulous experience. So was the festival. We got to watch 15-20 films in a single day," said the boy who was introduced to such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai and Bicycle Thieves by his father.

Shooting at Elliot Park was not an easy task. "We had to reach the park at five in the morning as we have shot the film mostly in morning light," Ayush said. The equipment was mostly borrowed from friends. "Our DOP Deep had a DSLR and we borrowed another one from a friend," added Souhitya.

The boys are also thankful to their mass media teacher, Sourav Sil, for handling all the painstaking paperwork. "It was a great exposure for the kids to attend the festival. They met filmmakers from all over the world," said Sil who accompanied the kids to the festival.

Back in school, it was celebration time. "Our principal asked us to share our experience with everyone. We clicked photos with the trophy," said Ayush who is now planning a project on Tagore.

Principal Vijaya Chaudhuri is proud of her students. "It was a worldwide competition and these children are learning to do all this just now. It was their first movie and getting recognised at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival is a great achievement. The school has provided them with infrastructure and moral support. I wish the students reach the greatest of heights," she said.