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 ...
Ito and Yoshida are close friends but Yoshida is completely unaware of the huge crush that Ito has on him. When a new girl Aihara joins their class, she somehow gets a pang of Ito’s fascination for Yoshida. Initially she taunts him but slowly the two of them become friends, especially given that they are both being treated by same psychiatrist (Ito’s father finds out he is gay and wants him treated And we later find that Aihara was raped in her previous school). Ito is constantly ridiculed by his classmates who make fun of him for him love for Yoshida and finally one day Ito confesses his love to Yoshida who doesn’t understand how to react to this news. Ito begs for a kiss in a beautifully done scene. Yoshida slowly finds himself drawn towards the mystery of Aihara, who knows that her best friend Ito is madly in love with Yoshida. This is where a bizarre love triangle happens because part of everyone wants to do the right thing and also do the right by themselves.
This is not an easy film to watch. It is slow, sometimes with no dialogues but at the same time showing young adult confusions very clearly. There are a lot of scenes which have been handled very sensitively. The whole sequence when Ito tells Yoshida about his feelings. They are friends, so Yoshida lets him hug him and kiss him but instinctively feels it wrong and pushes him back. And from now, there will always be a very uneasy rift between the two boys. Every character has a story and we don’t question too hard on thoughts and feelings behind the actions of each of the characters. Yes, the finale is a bit unsettling, without any clear direction. Their understanding of what romantic feelings mean at all just breaks down. I found it very very interesting when Aihara asks Yoshida is he likes her just because she is a girl and would he love her if she was a man. Yes, she is trying to help her friend Ito but this does pose an interesting thought challenge to everyone who watches this film and make you ponder about yourself.
A not-so-easy to watch coming-of-age film, I wish it was not such a long film and the ending was clearer but I think a similar story has a better prospect in today’s day and time. This film was probably way ahead of its time in 1995. (6/10)
Comments
I would say , with no offense for them who worked to build a film : it is not my cup of tea.