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 ...
Mario lives in Philippines and has been chatting on internet with Alexis, a Spanish guy. When Alexis decides to visit, as per Philipino culture, Alexis is thrown a big bash. But there is a surprise. Mario's mother so far thought that Alexis is a girl and gets shocked to see that he is a man. She fabricates a story that he is Alexis' brother Alex in front of everyone in the family. Fearig that Mario is gay, his mother, who is very dominating, asks him to ask Alexis to leave the next day and that Mario should meet a girl and get married soon. Mario's father on the other hand tries to be friendly. Bt in between this, Mario and Alexis are struggling. They have just chatted on internet a few times and are not getting any time to get to know each other because of the mother. They finally manage to spend sometime together but get lost of their way back and causes a tiff between them. Following which Mario confesses his love for Alexis but falls sick. When they come home, Alexis takes care of Mario, which his mother likes. Even Mario's father tries to put some sense into her. Alexis tells her that he really likes Mario and wants to be with him for good. When Mario's father finally explains his mother, she finally sees that Mario really needs to go out. In a tender moment, Mario comes out officially to his mother and explains how he will be always her son and some things will never change. Mario and Alexis finally manage to go to Manilla for a vacation.
The film had some stereotypes about traditional Filipino culture but that made the film little funny. The mother specially added to the humor when she would say "Not in my home". Mario, as the confused mama's boy acted really well, who didn't want to upset his parents. There is a very touching scene when Alexis and Mario are having a fight and Mario just starts saying in Filipino how much he loves Alexis. Alexis can't understand a word, but you realize, the inner turmoil that Mario is going through because he is so happy when he is with Alexis but he just doesn't want to think what will happen to his mother when she finds out the truth. Surely, it is a little hard to believe how 2 strangers on internet can fall in love totally but you never know. Things can happen. Alexis also acted very well. The scene where he tells Mario's mother that he loves Mario is interesting. Also when Mario's father explains to Alexis how Mario really needs to get out of here. There were funny scenes when the whole extended family is involved. If this film could have been a little more polished, it would have been really good. It was just with low production values and very simple.
A story of a foreigner in another country, different culture, and acceptance of love, this film will not bore you. Plus it has a happy ending. (5.5/10)
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