Yours Truly is a film that finds itself thrust under the genre of romance, as its 57-year-old
protagonist Mithi Kumar (Soni Razdan) quietly pines after a man she’s only ever heard, but never
seen. She hears his voice over the station speakers every day on her long commute to work, and
over the years, develops an ineffable connection and attraction to this invisible “announcer”. She
regularly writes him unreserved and intimate letters where she pours out as much of her heart as
she does of the deep, reflective musings about the world. She imagines him addressing her personally over
the speakers - teasing, chastising, and guiding her through her day-to-day activities. However, the
station announcer never writes her back, and his private messages in her fantasies are never
recreated in his public messages over the station’s speakers. 

<h2>The film only fits in the romance genre
by how prominently Mithi’s life lacks it. </h2>

The opening scene shows Mithi lying motionless in bed, as a train rushes by loudly outside her
window. This is a predecessor for much of the film to come – the world moves along at a pace not in
sync with Mithi’s, while she remains stagnant, shielded under her gauzy mosquito nets, quiet teas
with biscuits, lonely train rides, and long nights of listening to her loud neighbours in bed while
craving the touch of her faceless man. It is an empathetic exploration of loneliness – a loneliness that

clearly weighs heavily on the protagonist – but a weight she doesn’t seem to mind. 

 She makes no
effort to rectify her isolation. She refuses to reciprocate her tenant, Vijay’s (Pankaj Tripathi),
forthcoming behaviour and attempts at conversation; she doesn’t try to seek out and meet the
“announcer” during the many years of being infatuated with him; she doesn’t seem to own a
television set or laptop; even after her vivacious younger sister, Lali (Aahana Kumra), presents her
with a new phone, Mithi doesn’t feel the need to use it to relieve the loneliness of her long, daily
commute on the train and ferry, where everyone around her is mindlessly scrolling through their
phones or listening to music to pass the time. 

<h2>Mithi seems to be living in a hangover from a fantasy world that she wishes existed – a world that is
not obsessed with gadgets, where a woman doesn’t have to be alienated in her workplace from all
her male colleagues, and where love letters are not only written, but also reciprocated. </h2>

There is a scene in the film where Mithi looks on at a dead body being transported on the train. As a
jolt displaces the sheet covering the body, revealing the corpse’s face, Mithi immediately gets up to
cover the body with her newly purchased quilt – an act of pure kindness, if it hadn’t been for the
look of paralysing fear in Mithi’s eyes when staring at the corpse’s face. It is unclear whether she
struggles to sleep that night because of being exposed to the cold without a quilt, or because of the
memory of why she doesn’t have one in the first place. 

Perhaps she’s afraid of how the dead body symbolises her future; perhaps she’s even more afraid of
how the scene resembles her present. Whether it be familiarity, or fear of 
the future, the emotion in Mithi’s eyes when she looks at the corpse is one perhaps also reflected in the viewer as we
watch Mithi’s life, love, and loneliness unfold in all its comfortable silences and disconcerting
mundanity on-screen.

 
Written by Sanjana Bhagwat

Yours Truly | Soni Razdan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aahana Kumra | Review

The little moments that constitute life are weaved together most seamlessly in this anthology of short films. From the loneliness of old age, and a deep desire to reconnect with someone, to the little joys of simply eating an ice cream - the thematic concerns are far and wide across the spectrum, and yet never out of synchronisation with one another. Each story that the film offers is more powerful than the other, and is bound to stay with the viewer long after they are done watching it. The subtle, but potent commentary the narrative presents on issues of gender, misogyny are loud and clear, without falling in the trap of sentimentalism. Additionally, the film's insight on old age and mental health is noteworthy. The performances and portrayal of all the characters enhance the stories further, ensuring that often only the eyes are sufficient to express and communicate the intended sentiment, even before the film makes it explicit for you. All of these elements together allow Jump Cuts to work on several levels, making its success well-rounded and complete in itself.

Jump Cuts | Short Film of the Month

The short film is beautiful in terms of the pacing, the tone and the narrative it weaves using its visuals. Marked by seamlessness and sophistication, the poetry takes the viewer into a world of shadows which conceal some magical beings and all that they carry within themselves. The writing is notable and employs words smartly and poignantly to convey its intentions. The film is specifically relevant in contemporary times for it carries an important social message, urging the viewer to not forget to light up the lives of those we may have, knowingly or unknowingly, forced into oblivion and forgetfulness, especially during the pandemic. The communication is lucid, coherent, skilled, and manages to convey it all in a moving manner.

The Invisible Humans  | Short Film of the Month

The film introduces us to an elderly couple where both partners wish for an end to this final chapter of their lives, as well as to the isolation and loneliness that define it. 

At the heart of this desire is the very pragmatic concern of one of them meeting their end before the other, and therefore leaving the other all alone without a companion. The two lead a comfortable life, and are affectionate towards each other, but find it beyond their might to ward off the many obstacles that are ushered in by old age. 


As they seek a final solution to their many problems, the film also endeavors a comment on euthanasia. Despite the thematic concerns, the narrative is never weighed down with sentimentalism, owing to its notable writing. On the contrary, it ropes in lightheartedness, humor, warmth-inducing-chemistry of its actors, and, lastly, an endearing story of a loving couple.

Golden Jubilee | Short Film of the Month

This is a well-produced film with good performances by all the actors. However, the climax of Listener leaves the viewer a bit under-whelmed. This could perhaps be blamed on the format of a short film where the creator is confined by the duration. Yet there is a distinct need for the crescendo to rise in a different manner. The protagonist of the short film works at a restaurant where people pay him to listen to them talk. Listener, thus, also becomes a comment on the loneliness in society where despite friends, family and a job, people have to pay to get heard. Bottomline? It's a good film with a great concept, but there's an inexplainable sense of something being absent.

Listener | Short Film of the Day

Our first interaction with the story is an interaction with a moment of crisis. Something crucial is unfolding for the protagonist, something we would only be allowed a suggestion of without truly knowing what went wrong. However, the moment, and the woman’s comforting whoever the person is on the other side of her phone screen, is sufficient to reveal to us everything that it entails. 

After meeting the homemaker at the heart of a marriage which gives her little comfort or solace, we are allowed a clearer understanding of the tribulations that afflict her life. It is only when the viewer finds out who the recipient of all her phone calls is, that the film’s intentions are made lucid for us. In the process, an important message about mental health, the isolation of depression and the desperate need to simply find a kind friend is pronounced for the audience.

The Confidant | Short Film of the Day

The narrative is a conversation between a man and the many changing faces of another character called Seher. As the conversations continue to progress, the complexities of the protagonist's life, in direct contrast with the bright, cheery smile on his face, are revealed to the viewer. There is further the desire to explore the territory of symbolism and metaphors to portray his reality in a notable manner. 

From flower petals to specific shades of pink, from sunlit windows to the same corner of a cafe where we always find the protagonist and his forever changing companions, the narrative evokes them all to embellish the story. Along the course of the plot, he also mentions Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and some of the changes in the people before him begin to make sense. Despite his beguiling smile, you're allowed a glimpse of his several struggles, the most notable being the yearning for another person. 

Consequently, the film becomes a conversation with mental health, loneliness, love, relationships, even patience and the desire to not give up on someone. The cheerful face before you is located at the heart of this narrative, as it progresses from one aspect of his life to another, all the while demanding the viewer to dedicate themselves fully to the entire trajectory of this movement.

Seher | Short Film Nominee

‘Pechu’ is an important story, especially relevant in a pandemic-ridden and technology obsessed world where isolation and loneliness gain even more staggering proportions. A man is about to take his life by suicide. He stands on the precipice of a building when his attempt is foiled by a very unlikely visitor - a drunken man. 
It is revealed he too has come to this desolate rooftop for the same act, and a conversation ensues between the two. Through the stories and experiences that they exchange, the film offers its message about a very important, but often ignored, concern of mental health, with its writing as a crucial tool in achieving this.

Pechu | Short Film Nominee

Blurred lines often make for interesting subjects for art, and the short film goes ahead to prove the same. It endeavours an interaction with reality and illusion, presenting to the viewer an intelligent narrative that requires your undivided attention as it shares its story of a young Hindu priest. Along with invoking a sense of dreaminess and surrealism, the plot also exhibits a conversation with ideas of loneliness and isolation. The echo of being by oneself is found in the protagonist's day-to-day life until one day when he finally decides to take shelter in a fantasy of affection and perhaps possible romance. However, can something as effervescent and calm as his little romantic escapades be eternal and enduring too? The short film offers an answer, while maintaining its organically slow pace throughout.

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