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 ...
Set in 1994 in Havana, Rosa, a nurse, is married to Ernesto, a construction engineer. they have a happy life with Rosa's ailing father, whom she takes care of. She is pretty much as good a person as nurses are supposed to be: Ernesto and his colleagues are pretty much as sexist as construction workers are supposed to be. One warm Havana afternoon, Rosa Elena checks up on a transgender friend, Sissy, who is suffering from the complications of a black-market breast augmentation. Rosa’s husband, Ernesto, expresses his disapproval of Sissy, and she pleads with him to understand and sympathize with transgender people. Corrupt official Lorenzo is Rosa's former lover and we soon find out that Rosa herself has had a sex change operation which no one knows of. When Ernesto threatens to open an enquiry about raw materials being stolen, he gets Ernesto fired for being married to a transgendered, thereby revealing Rosa's secret to all. Heart broken Ernesto leaves Rosa, but soon finds himself back with her, after Rosa goes through a lot more humiliation by her father and Ernesto's best friend.
The film has a very interesting plot. When Rosa's past comes forward, it comes as a big shock, although, I have to admit, I was sort of expecting it. I just assumed that Ernesto would also know the truth. Rosa singing as choir boy in free time does give us a hint to her past. But sadly we don't get to see the history with her father, because there is one, when Sissy stays back one day. Also, towards the end, was the father pretending throughout or just gets better suddenly? The corruption of the government those years is rightly brought to the forefront, although I don't particularly agree that all straight men shown are immoral and opportunists. Since Ernesto and Rosa shared such a perfect life, he was bound to come back in her life, but by then Rosa knows exactly what she wants, something that she complains about throughout the film.
A simple movie about love and loving one another, the film is not without its flaws. But still given the geography and the time period the film is set in, your heart reaches out for Rosa. (6/10)
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