Rating: 2.75/5
A part of Zee5’s Short Film Festival, we have the second short titled Season’s Greetings. It stars Celia Jaitly Haag, Lillete Dubey, and Azhar Khan in the lead.
Unlike Heartbeat, which we reviewed previously, this one is lengthy with the duration of a little over forty minutes. The story is about Sucharita (Lillete Dubey) and Romita (Celine Jaitly Haag). They are mother and daughter who are living separately.
Romita has been in a steady live-in relationship with Usman (Azhar Khan) for two years. She finally decides to tie the knot. At the same time, Sucharita plans an evening with them. What happens when the two meet after a gap? Why did the two separate in the first place and how it ends is the basic premise?
On the surface, Seasons Greeting appears very familiar and on a predictable terrain. A few bits are thrown in, which seems disjointed at the start. It is when the daughter starts to open up about her past slowly and tells the background information related to the parents that one is gradually hooked to the narrative as various dots are connected.
One also realises the point the short is trying to make. The armchair activism of the daughter and the real progressiveness of the mother are neatly understood at the end. Everyone is ready to support a cause. There is aggressiveness when it is done with a distance. But, when one is at the centre of such an issue, archaic values overtake the modernity. People are not ready to accept the change when it comes to their personal lives but are always willing to advocate it.
It is a timely and relevant message. However, the whole point fails to make the right impact due to the lethargic pace and dull narrative. At forty minutes, it is lengthy. The poetic touch tried by director falls flat and adds to the humdrumness.
Lillete Dubey stands out with her act. The rest, including Celine Jaitly Haag on her comeback is just alright. The writing could have been better. Ram Kamla Mukherjee directs the short which is his ode to Rituparno Ghosh.
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