Commissions

A Breath Held Long is a 20–25-minute video by Sudarshan Shetty that merges documentary filmmaking with theatre and music. Set within the charged, ever-shifting landscape of Mumbai, the film captures the tempo of the city through a series of long, single-line narratives performed by six to seven professional actors and a singer. Each voice adds to a growing chorus that meditates on the act of breathing – both as a basic human necessity and as a metaphor for survival, resilience, and the passage of time.

Accompanying the video are a series of sculptural objects by Shetty that extend the film’s thematic concerns into physical form. These objects, characteristic of Shetty’s sculptural language, serve as silent counterpoints to the spoken word. 

Together, the video and sculptures form an installation that asks — what it means to live and breathe — in a restless city.

Originally commissioned by Serendipity Arts for the Serendipity Arts Festival 2025 and produced by Apostrophe 99