Short Film Review: KRITI (2016) – An Impressive Effort By The ‘Jaanemann’ Director
Sirish Kunder has never been anyone’s favourite director. But the quirky filmmaker makes a thrilling comeback (if he had ever came to begin with) in a riveting short film.
Check out my Review of ‘Kriti‘ starring Manoj Bajpayee, Radhika Apte & Neha Sharma.
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5830220/” name=”Kriti” description=”‘Kriti’ is an intensely dark thriller and one of the very rare short movies from Bollywood. Read on for my Review and share your thoughts with me. ” director=”Sirish Kunder” producer=”Sirish Kunder” actor_1=”Manoj Bajpayee” ]
Rating: 3 Out Of 5 Stars
‘Kriti‘ is all about a troubled man and his inability to separate reality from his own imagination. As he attempts to navigate his love life with the help of a psychiatrist, the story focuses on where it all goes wrong, and how.
For those who don’t know who Sirish Kunder is: his two previous directorial films were ‘Jaan-E-Mann’ and ‘Joker’. While I loved the former, the latter was a cancerous growth on the face of cinema.
A detailed outline of my hate for ‘Joker‘ can be found in my Review.
So it’s all very surprising to see the director, (also husband of Farah Khan) return to the limelight with quite an experimental film which is completely contradictory to his previously established tone as a filmmaker. ‘Kriti‘ is a dark and twister thriller with a great performance by Manoj Bajpayee.
The always amazing Bajpayee gets a great role in a contemporary urban setting this time, given that majority of his better known roles see him in a rural or regional avatar. (‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’, ‘Rajneeti‘)
Bajpayee is joined by the immensely talented Radhika Apte, who seems to be everywhere these days. Known more recently for her role in Anurag Kashyap’s international anthology film ‘Madly‘, Apte provides a great and memorable performance here, although uncredited as per IMDB.
I’m also a very biased fan of Neha Sharma, who star alongside Bajpayee as well. Sharma will be known to casual audiences from her roles in ‘Youngistaan’ and other brief supporting roles in films of other stars like ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’.
Glad to see the actress being a part of something smaller and unique like ‘Kriti‘, even though her voice sounds like it was dubbed over. Possibly.
‘Kriti‘ itself really exhibits Kunder’s growth as a filmmaker. The cinematography is noticeably strong, while Kunder chooses camera angle to framse shots in the most awkwardly dramatic of ways. While it takes a few seconds to get used to, it really enhances the story as it reflects the psychological status of the lead character played by Bajpayee as well.
The concept itself isn’t revolutionary or anything new. The mind-screw elements using a protagonist going through mental issues has been done many times. But it’s impressive when the effort comes from Kunder, a directed previously establishing himself as more light hearted and breezy in tone.
Movies like ‘Kriti‘ also create many more opportunities and outlets for filmmakers within India. If free short films allow for more creativity, free from the studio model, then smaller talent may find an alternative outlet for their vision.
Check out ‘Kriti‘ on the streaming site Muvizz.
What do you think of ‘Kriti’ and what short films could mean for Bollywood?
Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @theshahshahid
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