Time Out takes the giant leap of faith in Indian cinema. It touches upon deepest intricacies of issues that are not discussed in Indian celluloid, and does so beautifully and aesthetically. It is a film that holds the mirror that exposes the biases and contradictions of a supposedly evolved culture of today’s times. To be true, this film may not be a classic, but this is a film with a young heart and an open mind.
It touches on the issue of acceptance of people from the point of view of Sexuality, and it does so very poignantly. The character, Mihir, essayed by Pranay Pachauri is a breath of fresh air. In this biased, hypocritical Bollywood industry, there are many who would tweet about equal rights, however, there are often just a handful who would really accept a film where they have to live a gay character.Pranay Pachauri despite this being his first film, had no reservations. I have interacted with this boy one on one, and I find him to be a truly promising star, dedicated and extremely hardworking. There are some scenes where he is upset, and he doesn’t have to resort to loud histrionics, he has an expressive face, and says a lot with his subtle facial expressions. He depicts each emotion with minimal effort.
However, Pranay is not the hero of the film. The hero of the film, is the guy who plays his younger brother, Gaurav. Gaurav, played by Chirag, in his role of this singer, guitarist, cool dude brother, excels in every aspect of performance. His smile, his expressions of joy, his red eyes of pain and sorrow, his pissed off “kyaa hain yaaaar”: all of it is endearing. He doesn’t falter even once. He fits in the role, like hand in glove, like ball in the socket. He seems every director’s dream – who listens to every little instruction, and puts in his 110%
The ensemble cast of the film does a good supporting role, cementing and holding the film together. The music is good, young, energetic (though I don’t understand the meanings of some of the words). From an advocacy point of view, I would say, this is a great film to watch. It takes a leaf out of some of our lives, who battle against all odds to stand up for who they really are. This film focuses on growing up school days, and each of you’ll fully relate to these years of thumping hormones and pumping emotions.
This. This is the true power of Cinema. It makes you think. It makes you talk about issues you never.
Kudos to the team of Time Out? for standing up for the true meaning of cinema – one that stirs conversations. Conversations are the genesis of change.
On the flipside, every film would need a certain setting, this film uses an upmarket, upper-class setting. This will be criticized heavily. I see this as a form of bias against the upper-class. It would be not questioned if they were shown as middle class. Or even if they were shown as in a quintessential Hindi film family – a family struggling to meet its ends. This is another form of hypocrisy. The fact remains, that the upper – classness, is only a setting that the film takes, it is not the core of the film. The complexities of characters and the storyline, is true to every class. The film is not ‘class’ist, but pseudo intellectuals who make this a debate about class – are truly one.
net net, please hit the theaters and watch this film – a labour of love by Rikhil Bahadur and Shachi Sharma. You will not regret it. And remember this film for a long time.
