A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect.
On quick glimpse, this movie focuses on a quiet romance when a guy meets a girl. What drew me in was a brief peek into the life of another culture. With most of the movie in another language, you need to appreciate the differences in space between here and there. Painted as real life, the movie follows the crawling pace of natural life and repetition, perturbing for someone who needs to move around often. However, Ritesh Batra, writer and director, regales the world with a story worth watching to follow his past success “The Lunchbox.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrays Rafi, a quiet street photographer in Mumbai trying to improve his moneyless existence. One day he takes a picture of a young student, Miloni (Sanya Malhotra) on her way to live with family close to her classes. She leaves with the photo and without paying but the moment strikes them both as the words he says reach her deeply. As if their souls understood each other but not in a fairytale fashion but they way love finds two people in natural existence.
Rafi searches for Miloni perhaps by accident, perhaps on purpose. Just like with the whole tone of the movie, his searching is unspoken but is shown in glimpses. When he finds her it is as if a peaceful moment culminated in a mutual feeling of potential affection. Miloni seeks Rafi without knowing his name because his photo of her saw past the exterior and she needed to understand how he saw her from behind the lens.
When Rafi tells his grandma on the phone, that he thought he had met someone, she pays a visit. Now Rafi has a problem. He doesn’t even know Miloni’s name. He found her on a bus and somehow convinced her to pretend she was his fiancée for his worried grandmother. Then comes the issues of differences. The two met with grandma but find chances for intimacy as well. Their relationship flourishes without fanfare with simple human nature.
Both characters take a sober approach to life. Words take second place to contemplative thought and routine. Their romance follows suit without need for Americanized desire for lavish focus on touch, instead, they focus on exploring their innate bond. The muted courtship, so unfamiliar to America, is hard to observe in its restrained performance. Even the end leaves wide open doors for imaginative minds to explore. Uncomfortable yes, but also beautiful.
Rafi and Miloni seem an odd pair as he is old enough to be her father. Not uncommon but awkward all the same as a bond can only go so far until mutual interest needs to carry a couple the rest of the way. Their common interest in solitude, introspection, and a desire to please those they love seems to be enough to continue the budding relationship and is enjoyable despite the excessively slow pace, though their journey shows some poetic beauty with something so simple as learning each other’s likes, dislikes, and past. A few scenes focus on Rafi’s desire to make life better for Miloni and his discreet romantic nature.
When following Miloni especially, the speed slows to a crawl. We watch her in class, we see her eat meals with her family, but mostly we see her sit at a desk studying with a cup of tea. Rafi’s life, while less financed, comes with laughter, love, and people. His roommates keep him from spending too much time in his head. Grandma made the movie, though. She gave out advice, guilted with a reminder of her impending death and lack of grandchildren. Grandma bought expensive gifts for Miloni while still willing to sleep in her grandson’s shared flat with several other burping, farting, smelly men.
The issue with the film though, is it expects the audience to read minds as we passively witness a slow dance. Too many scenes were silent. The pace too, while purposefully tempered, requires patience. Although the purpose comes through to observe the nuances in the couple’s relationship without forcing them into a heated relationship destined to fizzle out. Like the lack of insight into the characters’ thoughts, the movie does not show us where they end, instead, opting for ambiguity and imagination.
Opens in select theaters Friday, May 17th
