There has been a recent surge in mainstream films set in small cities of Northern India.
However, in ‘Bareilly ki Barfi’ (an otherwise good film), when Kriti Sanon smokes a cigarette
sitting on her rooftop with her father, she does not have to think log kya kahenge?. Most of
these films do not tackle the actual hardships of living in these cities. The burden of living in a
society where it dictates your personal life to the point of absurdity is perhaps not a suitable
topic for entertaining cinema. 

Kislay’s ‘Aise Hee’ has proven it can be done. It is a film about an elderly woman in Allahabad
(later Prayagraj) who, after the death of her husband, begins to live her life on her own terms.
The husband, however, is a looming shadow in the film, his absence the driving force.

<h2>Little scenes in the first act brilliantly build this up. Earlier on, we see her younger family
members scrounging for colourful sarees in her wardrobe that she would no longer need. Her
son and daughter-in-law diligently plan to give her room on rent for extra money. The locals
respect her for being a lawful wife, and by extension, expect her to be the perfect widow. </h2>

When she breaks away from the norm, society is not ready to handle it. Until then, perhaps
her presence was little more than a venerated idol in the house. Stones don’t require people to
change their lives for them. Kislay’s brilliant screenplay follows her journey in every aspect - in its
pacing, its momentum and its interaction with side plots.

<h2>The film is more than her story. It slowly, but surely develops into a competent social and
political commentary, and a story of a middle class family struggling to keep their lives
functional. Her son, brilliantly portrayed by Harish Khanna, struggles with the uncertainty of
contractual government jobs. When we see him burst out in anger at his family, we see his
frustrations. It is apparent that his professional life is confined to being a yes man to a boss who
couldn’t care less, trying to find work in an industry he clearly cannot understand.</h2>

Another brilliant moment comes in the character sketch of his wife, she finds her kitchen in
disarray, only to see her apathetic daughter coming in and nonchalantly contributing to the
mess. She bursts out in tears as she cleans it. 

A strong subsidiary plot is set in the backdrop of radicalisation of youth as Allahabad becomes
Prayagraj. ‘Aise Hee’ is able to comment on class relations, religious tension and misogyny in a
multi-layered narrative that is ultimately the struggle of a family to keep itself together in a
disintegrating society. 

All characters fall victim to their circumstances in their own way. Kislay compounds it with collages of their real
pictures from a life of ‘innocence’ as he completes their character sketches while Schubert’s C
minor symphony plays in the background. 

The filmmaking is relentless, unnerving, yet intimate. The camera understands its characters,
and never judges. There are no clear blacks and whites in their bleak world. In a sense what we
do not see in the film is worse. Kislay has presented a world at the brink of a fallout, desperately
clutching to itself. When we look back, the comedy of errors seems less comic and more ominous with regards to what is to come. It is the story of a degenerating society that might just
crumble, where nothing can be done ‘aise hi’. Well-meaning things have dark repercussions,
and the individual is never free from the dehumanizing grasp of society.

 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

Aise Hee | Review

The film gives a glimpse into an evening during which a lover's quarrel is unfolding. The woman continues to walk away, while her partner impatiently follows in tow, trying to defend something the viewer is not given full knowledge of. This is, of course, a deliberate decision by the film for it is not the hows and whys which are important, but the aftermath they have led to. Using its non-linear narrative, Woh Ek Pal allows the progression of two different set of events - one marked by the tiff, the other in which the woman, dressed in all white, is by herself at the beach. While several elements, the red balloon, for instance, the sea breeze and the beach, remain the same in both of them, one crucial aspect is starkly different in the latter, and it is precisely this which holds the most significant piece of information regarding the fate of the lovers. The film is made for an attentive audience, choosing to allow its ending a sense of vagueness. However, it would have benefited from a little more lucidity, simply to allow itself a wider reach in terms of storytelling.

Woh Ek Pal | Short Film Nominee

The concern with films which use the black and white mode to tell the story of mental
illness, a topic that has gained more and more significance in a world that is within the iron-hold of a pandemic, is that they not only make the issue appear totally bleak and downcast, but also put into place a reductionist binary. As though the whole world is divided between the colourful lives of those
considered ‘normal’ and the dark, colourless lives of the misfits. 30 Days of Existence, however, does
something stylistic with the aesthetic. There is a flow to the whole film, a smooth concurrence between
image, audio and thought. The writing is sharp, concise. The visuals linger on the screen for just the right
amount of time. The editing is clean. The voice over is subtle, and clear. Despite the black and white
mode, there is something glossy to the whole visual. 
While the viewer might find themselves indecisive about how much the film succeeds in its depiction of depression or even in making big headways
for a conversation on the matter because there is no linear or standard narrative available for the topic, the film definitely doesn’t seem patronising or overstating. On the
contrary, it aspires to be poetic. That intent comes through and is appreciated.

30 Days Of Existence | 2020 Film Challenge

The film is a notable attempt at exploring the dynamics and nuances of loss, grief and hope. It adopts the story of a woman and a conversation that she is having with herself, and thus, also with the viewer, to explore this relationship. Additionally, The Last Letter weaves in promising voiceovers, echoes of our contemporary reality and the manner in which humans learn to interact as well as adapt to tragedy.

The Last Letter | Lockdown Film Challenge

It won’t be erroneous to say that life can truly transform into a nightmare if the lines between reality and dreams are blurred. This is precisely what happens to the protagonist who struggles with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder. Danish finds himself living in two parallel realities, one where he has run over and killed somone with his car in the darkness of the night. The other is about him struggling to come to terms with the accident in a reality where it never occurred. When he seeks out psychological help, the advice that he receives is absurd and potentially destructive. Would he give in to it and salvage his reality or would it lead to a more disastrous turn of events? The writing and storytelling of the film definitely exhibit potential. However, the sound and the edit show a little want of fine-tuning.

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