This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
Teenager Marcos lives with his family on a rural farm. He is a very shy kid and we see him wanting to experiment with cross dressing. When his father suddenly dies, he has to share responsibilities with his brother and mother of the farm. On the carnival night, he dresses as a seductive girl pretending to be Marilyn. The town goon likes him and rapes him after the carnival, which I believe Marcos secretly was looking forward to. But because of this, his secret is outed to his family and his mother burns all his clothes. Fortunately, things take a positive turn when Marcos meets openly gay peer Federico at a convenience store in town, and the two begin a relationship. Federico's family accepts Marcos but when Marcos suddenly invites him for dinner at his home, his mother brutally beats him up. This scares Federico and also he doesn't appreciate lies told by Marcos. Marcos is now even more snubbed by his mother and brother and he takes the inevitable extreme step to possibly end his misery.
The rural farm environment forms a strong backdrop of the film and is very much a character. And hence, when the 5 minute carnival scene comes, you see the contrast to the mundane life that Marcos is living. He is dancing with joy, rhythm and vigor, something that you don't see him with in his day to day activity. The film is slow and definitely will not be everyone's cup of tea, but it did remind of the film "Harvest" that I saw long back just because of the setting and slow pace, but still beautiful film. There is a lot more silence here but every scene still speaks to something. Marcos, as an actor does a splendid job. Without saying much his face, his eyes and his body speaks volumes of what he is going through. The pain of his father's death, dancing as Marilyn in the carnival, his mother's anger and eventual possibility of love with Federico. You feel for the boy at every step of the way.
A true story, an unexpected ending and a quiet yet strong film. It's an indie arthouse gem if you are craving for something very different. (7/10)
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