A short that garners a whopping 26 million views? That is quite something right?
ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch #NavjotGulati’s #BestGirlfriend, a 10 minutes film on the fragility of urban relationships in the current age. This film makes it to almost all the “Lists” of shorts that you must watch, and this got me intrigued.
1. The film is based on a true incident and got Navjot enthused enough to test out his direction skills. He admits that he had no clue that it would end up going viral like it has.
2. The film stars TV stars Kritika Kamra and Vikrant Massey playing the lead roles. They slip into their roles effortlessly and this is surely one strong reason to give it a shot. Kamra plays Sonali who is a live-in girlfriend to Vikrant. The film sets up the context early on when they discuss the news about a female actor doubling up as an escort. Sonali declares that there is no case to judge anyone and Vikrant agrees. I found it a little predictable after this but will avoid spoilers and leave you to go watch it.
3. Released in October 2014 as an experiment, the film marked the debut of Navjot, a self-confessed fan of Dibakar Banerjee. In his own words “For the longest time, it was my calling card. It was a film I made just to check whether I could direct. Somebody told me I did not have the talent or the skill to become a director and I had to prove that person wrong. I used to be somebody who thought ‘short films banaake kya milega? seedhe film banaayenge’. But life has its own plans. I ended up directing four short films and producing three”
4. The characters are neither black or white and thus give you an impression that you could easily bump into someone like him or her in your society. The camera work, lighting and breezy screenplay add to this.
5. The ending is my favourite piece. It begets more questions than answers. What exactly did Vikrant mean when he said, “You are the best girlfriend I’ve ever had”. Was he being sarcastic? Or was he ruminating on his own conduct? What happens next? What was Sonali’s reaction?
#BestGirlFriend sets up some interesting questions about society, relationships and commitment and where they are headed in today’s day and age. Does love and trust exist or are we transforming to a new set of operating principles. This is an old release but tops the list of short movies to watch and so this is for who missed. The film ends abruptly, and it could irritate a lot of the viewers. I am sure reactions would be heavily polarised. But then that is what a short does. Sets up more questions rather than answering them and herein lies the charm of this genre.
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