When the intention is right, not only do things fall in place but all the right people step forward to support you. When writer director Tej Sisodia decided to make a pertinent short, It’s Only 47°C, on climate change, not only did stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah came on board, but also acclaimed lyricist Swanand Kirkire agreed to write a poem to drive home the  underlying message of global warming. The icing on the cake, Shah pitched in with creative inputs and was only too glad to recite the poem, Nanha Pauda, in his magical voice.Tej remembers how when Shah was vetting the script, the writer in Tej had butterflies in his stomach. Only the veteran actor readily agreed to fund the film which has since gone places. Apart from being shown at London Climate Week, it will also be screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.Tej, however, can’t help but admit, “The ecosystem for shorts is still not favourable and when the subject is climate change, takers are that many less.” Since the standard refrain always is; ‘what is the ROI, how it would generate revenue’ a question for which Tej invariably has no answers.Today, as the film is readily available on YouTube, Tej shares how ‘It’s Only 47°C ’stirs clear of climate jargon and screechy preaching. It is, first and foremost, a human story which brings forth the predicament of farmer, a road side vendor and the plight of traffic constable. With lead played by Sharib Hashmi whom Tej rates not only as ‘fantastic actor’ but a ‘wonderful human being’ too, the presence of The Family Man actor, he insists, does add visibility to the film. Since the short embodies a message of social inequality, rather climate injustice, and points out how rising temperatures affect the marginalised the most, what truly touches Tej’s heart are the viewers’ comments. The fact that the film might have made audiences more empathetic towards a class that has no choice but work under the scorching sun is Tej’s biggest victory.Interestingly, he felt a profound change in his persona during the making of the film. Of course, the child in him always remains alive. The director, who has earlier made shorts like Avni on Right to Education and a girl’s fight, views the world through children’s lens. His next, a feature film, is a story of crusade of a young girl in the climate space, once again based on real-life experiences. While writing is in full swing, the challenge he knows will begin once he goes around fund raising, ‘the most disheartening process.’ But then this son of a farmer from UP understands too well what Roy T Bennett said, “Every challenge — every adversity — contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth.”In a key scene in It’s Only 47°C, the film brings out the contrast between privileged few and the unprivileged masses through a child’s gaze. Sitting in the comfort of her air-conditioned car she may not have rolled down her window, but he expects the powerful to shed insularity and recites the potent word of Swanand, “Jinke dil mein laalach hai, unhi ke haath mein taakat hai, pehle chahe hum mit jaaein, baari tumahri bhi aayegi….’ A wake up call we all must pay heed to.