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 ...
Russel and Gunnar are best friends since kids. But Russel has a secret. He is gay and can’t even bear to tell anyone since his father has high hopes from him. For his friend Gunnar’s sake , he goes on double dates but is very frustrated. But his dreams soon start to come true when after a few meetings, he gets into a secret relationship with the hot and hunky Kevin, the school’s quarterback. At their first kiss, their classmate Min sees them and invites Russel to join ‘Geography Club’ which essentially is a cover for clandestine LGBT club. Initially reluctant, Russel does join the group and meets a few other friends there. When his sexuality is revealed to the school, by some random jealous girl, Russel, initially hurt, decides to do something about it. He alongwith Min decides that they will officially make their geography club as the ‘Gay Straight Alliance’ club, the first of its kind in school. Russel also tells Kevin that he needs to come out in open. Even though Russel loves him, he cannot do that because he is looking forward to a scholarship and this could hurt his chances. Kevin walks away and Russel and Min get a decent number of people for their club. Russel is super surprised by how supportive his best friend Gunnar is with the whole thing. Finally its about being there for oneself.
The film had interesting premise but a lot of things were just too convenient. The way Russel just out of the blue becomes part of the football team just so he and Kevin can spend more time together was a bit unbelievable. There are certain scenes that have been handled with extreme sensitivity while others are amateurish. There is not consistent pace. More than the love story of Kevin and Russel, I felt the friendship with Gunnar was given more prominence; which is actually not bad because kids need to know that there is a lot of support out there from people who they are close with. They just need to feel comfortable. Acting by all actors is thankfully pretty good but I would hope actors who actually look like teenagers were chosen. Kevin, though extremely hot, barely looks like a high school student. And that sometimes takes away the authenticity of it all. Interestingly, from the film’s perspective, the conflict comes mostly from within, rather than from school bullies or inflexible parents, as each of the characters must decide whether to go public with his or her sexual orientation.
It's a good movie, but could easily have been a better one had the writers taken better care on the screenplay. Not bad by any standards, I feel bad when a movie could have been so much more. (6/10)
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