Earlier this year, of the many internet gems that graced our virtual chats, there was a video of a middle-aged Indian man, a figure (soon to be fondly known as Dabbu uncle within the realm of the internet) we are all too-familiar-with dancing to the Bollywood song Aap Ke Aa Jane Se. Picking up from there, the eponymous short film weaves an endearing and heartwarming narrative about a man, Rammo Babu's life who finds himself at the centre of unexpected attention when a video of him dancing at a wedding goes viral. 
Unable to make much sense of this era of smartphones and WhatsApp forwards, Rammo Babu lives a simple life. He sells sarees with a single-minded devotion to his job, drops his children to school every morning and ensures he always turns up for his family, driving them around sandwiched on a two wheeler. Manu Rishi Chadha as Rammo Babu would completely win you over with the disarming vulnerability he brings to life in the film. The performance is tied with an organic and smooth progression of events within the plot, ensuring that it succeeds at striking all the right chords with the audience. 
Additionally, the film does a notable job of portraying the many nuances and subtle realities of a middle class household where it is only the simple joys that often suffice in making someone’s day. It is precisely in achieving this, among other things, that the film’s true success lies.

Aap Ke Aa Jane Se | Short Film of the Day

The film is rightly titled The Ride for what a ride it is! Essentially, the premise is defined by the collision of two unlikely strangers shooting an Instagram Reel. However, within it rest several thematic concerns that bring to life a conflict between passion and practical, professional demands. It invokes the idea of virality, something that has given rise to a new currency in the contemporary world. If you do manage to accumulate a significant amount of the same, irrespective of your disdain for the medium, an important realization awaits you - that you are not as impervious to its charms as you thought. The film begins with a ride that Arjun is sharing with his colleague, one who is about to break to him a bitter news - he has been fired from his job from their agency due to his inability to deliver Reel videos according to the client's wishes. And yet, at the heels of all the despair, a pivotal development follows. Leaving this world of advertising and corporate control behind in his colleague's car, Arjun now steps into the colorful shadows of an auto whose shimmer refuses to be dulled (even in the face of Arjun's explicit request to turn off the glaring light). This marks the protagonist's journey away from his comfort zone of order and fixed ideas about creativity. It is what lies on the other side of this experience that conveys the film's core message, tying all of the aforementioned thematic concerns with an uplifting sense of hope.

Most Viewed

Genres

Awards

Follow Us

Quick Links