Tuesday, June 5, 2012

“White Lies” – The Simple Yet Captivating Short Film That Touches Your Mind


Was lucky to come across other day Mr. Rajarshi Mukherjee, a law student by occupation, and a short film maker by passion (for the clueless - a short film is one with a duration that does not exceed 45 minutes).

It was a new experience to know about short film, a specific genre of movie, and a really enjoyable experience to watch "White Lies", a nice short film directed by Rajarshi himself. In fact, I watched the movie on his laptop, sitting beside him (that was also a new experience, i.e. to watch a film siting beside the director of that film). 

I really loved the movie - the story, the script, the narration style, and the acting (incidentally, none of the actors is a professional). It is undoubtedly one of the best movies that I have seen in my life. And while I loved everybody's work, I will like to offer a special note of congratulations to Arinjay and Sukanya. Especially Arinjay has done a marvelous job. 

The story is about a young Kolkata lady named Isha discovering her husband Subodh to be secretly spending time with a female colleague, which is followed by a husband-wife spat. Emotionally upset, Isha decides to leave her husband for good, and comes out on the road. While loitering on the road with a disturbed mind, she is lightly hit by a car being driven by a young college professor named Amit. Amit takes Isha to his home for few hours, so that she can take some rest and get OK. Though initially a bit uncomfortable, Isha gradually opens up, and tells Amit about her spat with Subodh and the reason for the spat, and her decision to divorce her husband.

Amit calmly listens to her. Then he tells her about how he himself had cheated on his wife, and how she forgave him and gave him an opportunity to start it anew.  He tries to convince Isha that Subodh deserves another opportunity. Isha is so touched that she changes her mind, and goes back to Subodh, who was already repentant and was eagerly waiting for her return.

Well, there is something more in store for the audience even after this happy ending. After Isha goes back to Subodh, the audience finds that Amit is still a bachelor. He never married, and there is no question of cheating on his wife in the first place. He actually cooked up the story to make Isha changer her heart. It was this twist that I personally liked the most.

I have fallen in love with this "short film" category of movies, and will look forward to more such movies. And all the best to Rajarshi for all his future projects.