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 ...
The story is simple (is it?). Captain Favila is the S3 officer in an exclusive school. Private Abel and Private Fujioka are both aspiring for Favila's prestigious position, with the power and popularity it brings. However, the one-on-one interrogations of Favila with the cadets took extremely unconventional detours for him to determine who among the two was the right candidate for the job. The cadet's every aspect is thoroughly scrutinized and humiliated physically, sexually, intellectually. The cadets are pushed to their limits and then a gentle hand from Favila leading to rape like sex.
I believe the film is based in 70s and has a very theatre like feel to it. Favila is in a position of authority and abuses his position accordingly; cadets squirm and twist under his command and can do little else in response. The question of morality is pointedly ignored by both cadet and superior, and much of the tension comes from maintaining that carefully cultivated act of evasion. I'd say this film is less of a gay film but is full on obsessed with homoeroticism with lot of bare chested shots with their faces so close to each other, sweating and sort of wrestling. Even though the setting was theatre lie, I must say, the acting by all three leads was very impressive. It didn't feel amateurish at all. In fact quite a bot of hard work must have gone since their roles demanded a lot of intensity. The seduction scenes are tense and very loaded. I have read online that this film has won many awards. I might be missing a lot of subtleties in the film, but I fail to see if I would recommend this film to watch. I still have very very mixed feelings about this one. (4/10)
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