A short which imparts its point with much brevity & does so pretty effectively
By Amartya Acharya
Comedy and Laughter has always been a great equalizer. They serve as the bridge in connecting audience to topics far headier, important and in serves as societal taboo in the normal sphere. The conversation around mental health might have started getting more progressive in the recent years, but it’s still a long way to go because it is legitimized.
Dynal Ferns thus utilizes comedy in his 11 minute
short to broach the conversation around mental health psychosis. The movie
opens with Jude, in a taxi in Bombay, his face almost plastered in the window
of the taxi as he is napping. We hear a voice (Mansi Raccch) whispering
sultrily to get up then finally sternly shocking Jude awake. Rishi Hapawat’s
Jude has a very hangdog like face which automatically elicits sympathy for him.
Couple that with the fact that he is perpetually confused and frustrated at the
voice in his head for continuously asking him to “let her in”, and the movie
begins in a darkly comedic tone. Like the cassette player which he tries to
stop, because it’s playing a song which the voice in his head likes, the player
as if mocking him, continues playing. The taxi driver smiles and says “It’s
like a wife sir, be gentle”. Almost mimicking the current situation Jude is
having and the question arises, is being gentle a metaphor for co-existing
peacefully with the voice in your head?”
Perhaps it is, because Jude rightfully being
frustrated tries to bang his head in the seat of the car, forcing the taxi
driver to unceremoniously drop him off. It would also be unexpected if the taxi
driver actually stops to ask the customer and listen to his troubles. However
this methodology of either ignoring mental health or reducing it to a simple
case of madness comes into sharp focus when Jude finally reaches his friend’s
place. We listen to Jude’s dialogue and realize that he hates crowds. Maybe he
is agoraphobic. But as he sits down, the voice in his head talking through, it
changes tone and becomes critical, insecurities of Jude blossoming through the
surface and as he tries to be angry and swear, it only makes the people
surrounding him look at him with distaste. It’s a funny visual, and Hapawat’s
comic timing is on point. But the film actually manages to put its ethos
powerfully in the next scene. Jude tries to tell his friend, and his friend
takes it as prank and then announces to all the other guests how much of good
efforts that prank were.
It’s devastating and the final scene too
encapsulates how much of a dreamscape the concept of sharing actually is. It is
telling that the sharing of his mental woes is what Jude’s happy place looks
like, complete with his drinking of milk, and people accepting and encouraging
him to let it all out. It’s fascinating how in 11 minutes Ferns manages show
the societal viewpoint of mental health, while also managing to showcase how
much of the internal psychosis of Jude looks almost exactly like him. We don’t
need the origin of his psychosis; we need to empathize with him. I also
appreciated that Anirudh Barua’s cinematography is very much yellowish in color
pallete and giving a dark uncertain vibe. Even as the tone in comedic, the
situation isn’t. Short films are supposed to impart its points with as much
brevity as possible, and “Thank you for sharing” manages to do it pretty
effectively. Maybe the comedy undercuts the seriousness of the topic, but like
I said in the beginning comedy if used well can be the great equalizer in
spreading the message to a wider audience.
Comments
Post a Comment