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 ...
The story is about Mansi, an aids counselor, in a public health office in Mumbai, India. The film focusses on her and her five counselees whose story revolve with or around AIDS and HIV positive. We meet a bar dancer who is the only source of income for his family. When he has no option left with him after the bar is closed , he takes up prostitution and is forced to do unsafe sex because otherwise no one gives him money. We also meet an aging prostitute, who is diagnosed with HIV by accident. Suddenly all her clients are gone and now all she worries is about her daughter, her well-being and her future. We also meet Nishit, an intravenous drug user, who finally catches HIV because of his own negligence and is now struggling to first accept himself that he is positive and then later tell his girlfriend about it. Finally there is a gay couple. Kiran works with Mansi in the center who is in a very happy and romantic relationship with his boyfriend. He is a happy go lucky guy whose all dreams are shattered when he is diagnosed HIV positive and it turns out that his boyfriend cheated on him. A counselor’s ethics demand that she maintain confidentiality, be objective and not get emotional. But for a sensitive young woman like Mansi it is difficult to remain unaffected. Her true feelings are reflected in 68 pages of her personal diary, and hence the title.
Showing a gay couple and a transexual bar dancer is a huge jump for indian cinema. The good thing is that the film maker doesn't make an issue of either of the two. The focus of all sties is still HIV and AIDS. I wish this films gets more publicity and i seen by more people in India. Now if I had to do a critical view of the film, the direction of the film was very poor and of a novice but really when the intentions behind are so novel, the question is, how much of this other stuff matters. Acting by characters is ok but some stories are either half baked or use somehow have a magical happy conclusion. It doesn't matter though, like I said before. The stories have the capacity to touch, heal, change lives and hopefully bring about a better understanding of their fight to live with dignity. Many people might be able to identify themselves with some of these characters.
A film that was much need in India for people of India.My ratings are gonna be from both critical and educational perspective. (5.5/10)
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