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 ...
Our protagonist is Tom, who has weird kinky fetish for masks. The first glimpse into his bedroom shows his wall adorned with a variety of masks and throughout the film Tom wears them while out and about. He spends his days robbing people's houses with his friend and his nights wearing a mask so he can enjoy anonymous hook-ups with men he meets on apps. One night they break into an apartment to find its occupant, Lars, asleep in his underwear. Tom is intrigued by Lars as he sleeps and the homoerotic painting hanging on his bedroom wall. After leaving the apartment, Tom finds himself obsessing over Lars, and soon begins stalking him. Lars is a lecturer in university and then most of the film is about Tom stalking Lars, breaking into his apartment and just spending time there. When Lars realizes that someone has been stalking him or something, he gets locks changed. When he finds out about Tom, the duo have a very erotic sexual wrestling encounter in a park. Post which when Tom visit Lars at home, they kiss and make love. A storyline that runs parallel to Tom's stalking of Lars, is the recurring appearance of a biker whose face is obscured by his helmet. Tom begins seeing him all over town and desperately tries to find out who the man is. This is the lesser interesting of the two storylines but it helps to increase the tension and suspense that's the backbone of the film.
Although the film does a good job defining who Tom is, it never explains why he came to be so reclusive or his need for anonymity. Or his fascination for masks. But the actor who plays Tom really does a very good job of being this reclusive creep, especially in the moments he's in Lars' apartment alone and getting sexual gratification from the thrill of it. Tom, on the other hand is perfect eye candy, with his perfect chiseled body, handsome face and impressive physique. The film also offers a small, delicate peek at the gay community through its depiction of cruising and informative discussion of history. When Lars and Tom finally come to face to face, what was expected was a more furious and explosive confrontation, but what ends up happening is a very sexually-charged encounter that didn't feel authentic. I believe the idea here was to explore obsession and where it can take you keeping the film of an erotic thriller nature. This may not before everyone given it is atmospheric is nature and creepy at the same time. It plays on various thriller memes and comes up with something completely original. (5/10)
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