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 ...
Lucas, is a young man in Argentina who does gay web came sex shows to make money and tells that he is very lonely and if any of the suitors send him money, he will fly to meet them. Next thing we know is Lucas arrives in Belgium, and an old overweight baker Henry is there to pick him up. Henry is gay, and is hoping that Lucas will help him in bakery shop and of course fulfills his sexual needs while living together in the same house. Lucas protests sleeping in the same room, but he has no where else to go so he agrees. Slowly Henry realizes that Lucas is actually disgusted by his body so he offers him to send him back to Argentina, but Lucas now has nowhere to go, so he actually forces himself to have sex with Henry and also try a little better to help him at the bakery. A single mother Audrey also works at the bakery and somehow Lucas starts falling for her. We are not sure what the reason are, but he shows love and compassion to her and her son which creates a friend, family and love sort of environment which even Audrey was missing since her husband's death. Lucas has not hidden his story from Audrey and tells her he has always done this for money but never with a woman and she does end up having sex with Lucas, even after hearing Henry say in a room full of people that Lucas is his boyfriend. Lucas is now in this weird arrangement where Henry still thinks of him as his property but Lucas wants out which he cannot. A sudden health scare from Lucas, reveals that he is HIV+ and has known about this for a few years. Henry helps him get back to his health and in the end we see Lucas has moved out, found a job in a bar trying to reignite his love with Audrey while Henry is seen crying and dancing with an age appropriate man.
For Lucas, as the pragmatic young man, money and sex amount to the same thing, and he’s out of his depth where emotions and love are concerned. And we this happen plenty times in the film. When he has to stay back and have sex with Henry, or when he needs some money to give a gift to Audrey's son and other places. Henry and Lucas have polar opposites in every single way you can imagine but somehow they are both using each other and have convinced themselves of the arrangement however fake it really is. The whole Lucas-Audrey angle could have used a more detailed background approach. I can see why Lucas would be interested in her, but what makes her interested in him despite knowing everything about Henry and Lucas' past. The film deals with lonely people looking for love, the bad decisions they make, what they are willing to do, endure and, to some extent, the little value they place on themselves. Loneliness is a real thing, and people do all kinds of things in such situations. So I get that part but some of the actions and decisions taken seems a bit too contrived and not credible. The eventual twist in the end was absolutely not needed but I guess the makers wanted drama. Thankfully, the performances from all the three leads is genuine, heart felt and real. You feel where they are coming from , you try to reason their actions and at some point you also feel for them. Unfortunately, for people like Lucas, you wanna shake him up and tell him its time to wake up and improve his situations and do not take bad decisions, and eventually it does.
Overall, not a bad movie at all. An interesting perspective and a story showing us how some lonely people come together and how it changes them and people around them. (6/10)
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