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Short Films or Home Video formats are a more common concept in Western world and currently an emerging trend in India, under experimentation by many aspirant filmmakers. In the present context, the film in question “The Moment” which is the latest release, in YouTube and Face book, last Friday is a screen adaptation of Sandeep Balan’s blog “The Moment”, who has also directed this film. This is Sandeep’s first attempt on serious cinema, after serious of spoof videos, including the most popular “Madhosh Madira”, thanx to immensely likeable protagonist who featured in the same, coupled with hilarious voice over.
“The Moment” talks about a love story between lead protagonist and how each moment of the relationship makes a lasting impact in their lives. Though the story of the film has nothing new to offer in terms of content, but the novelty of the film lies how the story unfolds beautifully in 10 minutes. The beauty of any love story lies in the fact that it can be presented in a unique fashion each time. The director, Sandeep Balan, laps up this opportunity with both hands, and tells the story just like a delicious brownie, scooped with vanilla ice-cream, served in platter, for viewers to enjoy till the last scene. The fact that the story is written by director Sandeep himself, helps to recreate his vision onscreen, exactly how he envisaged it while writing . The scenes are well written by Sandeep.
The background music makes a stunning impact as this tragedy unfolds. The editing is crisp and perfect to hold the viewers attention. The movie also captures the mood of Mumbai, in it rains and again directors hits it, by blending it beautifully with the story. Photography of the film , is worth a mention, specially the outdoor scenes. The fact, that story is told to the viewers in the narrative format, adds to the drama. The first couple of minutes may appear slow, but the film gets better with each passing moment. Full marks to the director, for bringing out an effective performance from his lead actors and also to his attention to minute details.
The fact, that cast is new, adds to the freshness of the film. Saurabh Bhasin, as Sid, gets the melancholy of the character right, and captures the same with his somber looks and sincere performance. But the movie gets elevated by few yards, with a top-notch performance of female protagonist Aditi, played by Sangita, who is a complete natural on screen. Her vivacious smile and eyes speaks volume, and arresting enough to make her audience, skip a beat. Watch her emote in the penultimate scene, its a treat. The chemistry between lead pair sprinkles innocence. In a special cameo, Naishy as Aditi' s friend Ayesha is a stunner and oozes with confidence. As described in one of the dialogues, she truly is the "fringe benefit" of the movie. It would have been interesting to watch her face to face, with lead protagonist in the climax scene, which director chooses to avoid, for some reasons.
As first attempt, Sandeep is a promising talent to watch for and his eyes for details especially the last scene of capturing the protagonist’s “hand” speaks about his eye for creating finer moments. Dialogues goes in line with the mood of the story, and some cheeky lines in between will leave audience with a smile. On the flip side, the sound of the movie is not so effective. The dialogues may look slightly more for a short film of 10 min. Dubbing of the film, in the initial portions could have been better. However the positives of the film, ensures you to overlook the weakness. A story told from heart, directed with lot of love, and performed with all honesty by the lead actors, is good enough to hold on to your attention. I will go with three and half star for ”The Moment”. Three for the movie and half star more for the director's vision well complemented by the background score.
