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 ...
One day after school, the serious Ito Akira and the child-like Nishi Yuki meet by chance, as each endeavors to remain walking on the sidewalk`s white line. Soon Ito realizes he is drawn to Nishi in a way that is new to him. Ito decides to act upon his feelings and kisses a surprised Nishi, who agrees they need to walk side by side for a change. The sparks between them are undeniable as their relationship blossoms in high school when they are 17. At 19 they both enter university and are very much in love, although you can see that Nishi Yuki needs sometime for the sexual aspect of the relationship. Time flies and the duo are in mid twenties. Ito is an ambitious man and understands value of work but Yuki still prefers to be a free spirit and enrolls himself in a scripting class. With the realities constantly changing around them, and inability to come out of closet to face his overbearing mother, Ito decides to breakup with Yuki and marries a girl in hope to start a 'normal' family. Heartbroken Yuki doesn't know what hit him and he is quite low. Few years into marriage Ito realizes that this is not what he stands for and however hard he try, he will never be able to forget his first and only true love. He apologizes to Yuki. They are in their early 30s by now, confronts himself, his family in hope to be with his love, this time forever.
This short series bears witness to loving partners, whose unchanging feelings must co-exist within a world of changing realities. The actors very convincingly played 17 year olds and 32 years old with equal ease. They conveyed there emotions very well and there was no awkwardness at all. I could feel their love for one another through the screen. Using age as timeline, sometime you feel that you are losing out on how their relationship is growing and since. A lot was to be shown, I actually didn't mind it. What I did feel bad was about the way Ito breaks up with Yuki. Thats not just done on how you break up with someone. But having said that I can understand things that people are forced to do with societal pressure and family pressure. I have to say that this story is much more Ito focused than Nishi. While Nishi does get the screen time and important moments to demonstrate his character, his conflicts are less concrete.
The one is short and sweet and maybe a little bitter, but I would definitely recommend it. Loving someone is not easy and constant, especially when so much around you is changing. (7/10)
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