Yes. The title is in twitterspeak. I have been spending a lot of time trying to condense my thoughts, but Dibakar Bannerjee's film reminded me that I used to enjoy the greater than 140 words universe. (Apropos of nothing though, one is sort of powerless when confronted with the accusation that every new internet phenomenon seems to lower the ADHD bar).
Anyway, back to Banerjee's voyeuristic aesthetics. In clearly attempting an indictment o the viewing public Bannerjee has, in large part, taken the element of surprise out of all three narratives. Yet it is to his great credit that the predictability did nothing to hamper my involvement. Within each of the three vignettes lay individual scenes of chilling brutality, humanity and frailty.
The cloying romanticism of the Yash Raj paeans in the first segment only add to the horror of the eventuality that awaits the young film student and his muse. While in large part those two foolish kids are annoying as hell with their cuteness, it is the inanit of their romance that makes their end seem so undeserved. Would it not have been sufficient to let them get a divorce after the disillusionment that is certain to settle in after a couple of years of marriage?
Mrignaina's coquettishness towards Prabhat after turning down Loki's threesome proposal is another lovely little sequence demonstrating the insecurities of someone whose self-worth is based on her attractiveness. While Naina is a cliched character, Prabhat turns the stereotype of a pushy investigative journalist on its head by giving him a rather unwieldy conscience. It is entirely believable, that this conscience is what Naina is taking advantage of with her flirting.
But the moment I would pick to represent the film can be found during the second vignette. Just as Rashmi gets ready to get intimate with Adarsh she remembers the camera. It is unique to see a director endow his characters with the sense of self-preservation which makes characters real. The sequence is also supremely enacted by both players. The few seconds that Adarsh spends motionless in front of the camera he pretends to turn off demonstrate that the three titular entities are inextricably intertwined.
Nice.
ReplyDeleteFor all the great reviews, I've seen very little written about his gem in the blogosphere.
@gradwolf : I somehow get the feeling the greatest adventure in this film was the making. Dibakar Bannerjee is almost chuckling to himself THE ENTIRE time.
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