“Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out” ― Martin Scorsese. And shorts provide you the opportunity to push the boundaries just that much.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #TheBooth, an excellent take on forbidden love. The film is available on #MUBI and is directed by #RohinRaveendranNair. It is a lesbian love story set in a mall in Pune and the protagonists include the security guard who frisks people entering the mall and a younger college student.
The sheer irony of the situation and the context blows your mind. In a society where such relationships are frowned upon, you would imagine the coupe to seek freedom and a place where they can express their emotions towards each other. Of all the places in the world, their romance blossoms within the confines of the frisking booth! It is the boxed in booth that actually sets them free!
#AmruthaSubhash plays the older Rekha, less exuberant, weighed down under the constant beeps of her metal detector and less eloquent in her expressions. She brings a second tiffin box to work for her paramour. #ParanaPethe is the younger woman Sargam who on the pretext of entering the mall several times uses the stolen few seconds inside the booth to express her love for Rekha. She looks forlorn inside the mall and whiles away her time looking at the merchandise in the shops that she can never afford. Both women eat the same food albeit sitting in different places inside the mall. #Rekha cajoles her love and promises to bring pizza for lunch the next day. The age gap is communicated also by the songs they hum. Rekha is humming “Teri Bindiya Re” from the 1972 #Abhimaan while Sargam loves Tumse Hi from the 2009 #JabWeMet.
The 15-minute film also sets up the constant sense of the lead characters being watched all through. You expect someone from the mall administration to discover their secret. Or someone from their families to stroll in and admonish them. The CCTV cameras capture their entry and exit. There is even the oddball lecher who is secretly filming Sargam on his phone.
The other interesting aspect of the film partly led by the short format is the tons of questions that are left unaddressed. Events, characters and family relationships both pre and post the film context find no mention whatsoever. You are left wondering does Rekha have a husband back home? Does he suspect something fishy? Will she disclose her secret to him at some time? What about Sargam? Does she have a boyfriend to cover up her orientation? Will the mall authorities frown on the relationship? Will Rekha lose her job at the mall? Will Sargam be married off by the family?
#TheBooth was selected for the New York Indian Film Festival in 2019 and has earned critical acclaim. The world and that includes you and I, lives in constant denial and especially when it comes to the lower strata, it exposes our bias – we are waiting for them to be caught and “taught a lesson”.
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