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 ...
This is an anthology of short stories of sorts. Not sure how or why calling it a "Series of Light" makes sense or what's the idea behind it, but hey when its an anthology, little makes sense. According to the official website, this series explores the darkest sides of humanity, through technology, connection, intimacy and heartbreak.
1: Greenlight
Former child star turned hearthrob, Sam desires a change of image, but is in for a dark surprise when his webcam is hacked. He is extorted from money when a video os him masturbating to gay porn is outed. Interesting story.
2: Redlight
17 year old escort Callam books an afternoon meet up with an older business-man Jimmy. Things don't go as planned and just after sex, the old guy dies because of drug overdose probably. The young guy does all he possible can to mess up the scene to show it as a case of suicide.
3: Whitelight
19 year old student Aaron finds himself falling for the straight guy Adonis Mitchell. When it's clear Mitchell isn't interested, Aaron decides to pretend as a girl to get connected with him and get him interested. But its his best friend, who he ends up impersonating and her life gets into a spiral.
4: Starlight
Student Kane falls for his room mate Jacob, a straight rogue. Traversing their sexuality against 90's Liverpool, their journey is Lust, Shame & heartache. Shown over a period of four months, the straight guy is not yet ready to accept his feelings for Kane but he won't have it anymore.
5: Blacklight
Feeling relentlessly pushed down by his involuntary celibacy, 20 year old Adam stews alone as his explicit fantasies become more deranged towards an underground scene. This one in the series is not a queer story.
These stories were an interesting mix. Most of them unapologetically probes into the darknesses and shadows of identity within a modern era and examines its fragility, all while maintaining a firm grasp on the humanity that beats at each story’s center. In a digital age, everything from privacy, to hiding your real identity, to pretend who we really are and everything else in between is shown in these stories. Interestingly, the production quality is top notch and so is the acting and direction. It's just all of the stories do not land as nicely and strongly as some of the other ones do. (5/10)
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