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 ...
Renata is a trans woman, who has lost her job but not told her parents. She is on a week long vacation with her parents and sister. She is a person of few words, and ducks behind doors and absconds to the lake to vape and contemplate, her chin resting on her knees; her body curled into itself, a protective stance against the world. We never really get know what's really happening in her head. And the whole movie is just about a family of four bickering and fighting about petty things. More explosive confrontations will happen too, as the vacation hours stretch into days and the cottage starts to feel claustrophobic. The mother is always complaining to either daughters or husband. The husband is quite type who just listens to everything. The sisters confrontations are vicious exchanges of harsh sentiments, followed by moments of loving intimacy. The premise is neat needing to tell her parents she left the job and thats it.
Is Renata depressed? How introspective is she? It's hard to tell because the screenplay doesn't do an adequate job of providing a window into her heart, mind and soul. There's not enough comic relief, surprises or memorable scenes; and after a while I was asking myself why am I watching this film of a family on a holiday? Ren and her family don’t bicker about her transition — that aspect of her life is accepted, received with warmth and occasionally clumsy care. Their fights are familiar to small families with grown children and aging parents. Yes, the performances are good and the actress playing the lead is remarkable, but what do I do with that, when the story itself doesn't exist? What is it really that the film is trying to say here? I am really struggling to understand why critics are going gaga over this film, (but then of late I am finding myself keeping my distance form films that critics love, recent Oscar winners being an example). I understand that this has been made by a trans film maker, loosely inspiring events from her own life, but just this fact doesn't make a film good. For now, for me, this film is just shallow and underwhelming. It's just as bland as its title. (1.5/10)
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