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 ...
At the core of heart, "Pariah" is a street-smart story of an African American teenager's struggle to come of age and come out — to the father who still calls her "daddy's little girl" and the mother who quotes the Bible and buys her pink frills. It's hard to portray adolescence in film without nostalgia or fantasy. The film captures adolescence in all its awkwardness and tragedy.
The plot follows Alike, a black teenager girl, from home to school to the local gay social scene just a few bus stops from her Brooklyn neighborhood. We see her day to day life. She's an A student, a writer whose poetry speaks from her inner depth. She's wary of her classmates, but they seem merely curious to know the answer to the is-she-or-isn't-she a lesbian question. Certain about her sexual orientation, she's insecure about where she fits in as a young lesbian woman. Her closest friend is Laura, a very obvious butch lesbian who is hated by Alike's mother. Laura, in my opinion has feelings for Alike. Alike's mother is controlling while her father is tired and disillusioned. Alike's mother introduces her to the daughter of a coworker, in hopes of steering her away from Laura but things take a predictable turn, the two girls get in a physical relationship. Alike is happy for once but when she is told by the other girl that it was only an experiment for her, she is heart broken. Laura though initially dejected stands by her friends side always. Unable to take mental stress and her mother's control anymore, she finally blurts it out that she is lesbian. Her mother throws her out of the house. After a few days the father tries to come around and support her daughter but by then she has made a decision to go to college. Sadly, her mother thinks her daughter is dead to her.
First thing that stays with you after the movie ends is the acting by the lead actress. She is just too good. She's quiet, restrained, confused, scared before she finally gets confident and certain. Th emoter did justice to her role. I might not agree 100% to her character but she did what she was asked to do. Some things were not clear wrt why the couple were drifting apart? why was the father always out of him? The script and direction was definitely the highest points of the film. There is more to this film that just lesbianism.
Give this film a chance. You will definitely be satisfied with a meaningful cinema. (8/10)
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