WATCH THE FILM HERE
First, the Recap:
Closeness. It is such a vitally important component we require as people to experience the intimacy that comes through the connections we have with others, a support system of encouragement and challenge that drives us forward and allows us to ideally prosper personally as well as for the benefit of those we garner this level of warmth with. Yet, if we lose said people around us that represent the make up of this defined amity, to what do we turn to assuage the aching need for inner peace? In a Mumbai apartment, there lives an older lady (Himani Shivpuri) who’s now found that in order to maintain a sense of completeness and inclusion, it is an uncommon source she looks to—a beloved house plant.
Freely dancing around the residence’s living room, with full expressive passion and calm fervor as if to an audience of many, the woman reveals herself to be performing for an actual audience of one, even as she speaks to her plant as if it was a flesh and blood person rather than an inanimate object. Providing it sustenance via water while recounting the events of her current life, those of her far away son, Sonu, in America, and reading fanciful stories as if to a child, the woman’s reality becomes jarred when the slightest indication of the plant “suffering” or being in need arises. Yet, in all its oddness on the surface, the relationship becomes a deeper, abiding, and necessary means of solace than most would ever anticipate in a time when it is most required.
Next, my Mind:
Gloriously endearing, wholly original, potently affecting, and utterly, evocatively human, this 13-minute short film effort from writer/director/producer Swati Semwal and producer Imran Furniturewala carries with it such an emotionally powerful level of poignancy and soul-stirring relevancy it’s hard not to completely fall in love with its narrative about one lonely woman’s unexpectedly realistic and believable bond with an unassuming plant. Perhaps harkening back to moments like presented in the Hollywood blockbuster “Castaway” where Tom Hank’s character sells the viewer, with total conviction, on a friendship of substance with a volleyball he names Wilson, this story’s like-minded exploration of how extended solitude and sense of separation from those we have in our lives can overtly cause us to reach out and embrace whatever medium might be available to re-establish tangible attachment gets further expanded in displaying not only reliance on another object as a source of comfort, but in this case another living entity, which really adds greater strength to the film’s myriad of themes about growing old, life and death, truly caring for things, accepting life moving on, and realizing happiness from the most unanticipated places, all of which can ultimately provide tranquility when we’re most in need of it, as is illustrated here.
This leads up to one amazingly well-crafted finale that will take your breath away in the best possible, albeit heartbreaking and tear-inducing, way, putting a solid exclamation point on the film’s grand purpose to demonstrate the beauty of life and the means by which there is contentment, alleviation of isolation, and a fulfilment in heart and spirit that can be discovered if we’re willing to think outside the box in a world replete with so much conformity and dictated “solutions” that are the “only” ways to approach existence. Visually the film is shot with splendid clarity and the professionally presented form we would expect from the well-established filmmakers and crew involved, giving the viewer full immersion into the story and embracing specific moments through a superb mix of close-ups and distance shots so as to emphasize the key facets that provide the whole its plausible credibility and persuasiveness. Pair this with the effort’s equally moving orchestral music score from Teenu Arora that deftly accompanies the events depicted with a wonderfully apropos and uplifting air that only cements the depth of engagement we encounter as the viewer while watching the images flowing across the screen, enhancing the experience and upping the emotional connection to impassioned heights.
A veteran actress with more than 161 credits to her name and counting, Himani Shivpuri delivers an enchantingly captivating performance as the woman, a lonely soul whom we know deeply misses those around her who were the means by which she continued to have an interrelatedness to the world, both as family and confidants. Now, with her son since married and moved to America, and no longer having the company of a husband, she turns to the unforeseen source of serenity she chooses, a favorite plant. Through dance, speaking, reading, and tender caring of this “companion”, the woman finds the wonder of joy and purpose again, an outlet so that any hidden sadness or feelings of isolation are swept away in allowing herself to be freed to the core of her being by having found that means of release and sharing which heals her fully all around. Additionally allowing her to confront the actuality of life’s end, there’s also a highly believable awareness and comprehension of it that the woman perceives in these interactions with the plant that are totally viable as well. It is with this deeply emotive portrayal of the power love and support has to transcend the “usual” and be found in other ways that makes Shivpuri such a joy to witness here, certainly exhibiting why she is the revered actress she is.
In total, “Blossom In Love” is a fantastic example of Indian short film that by far deserves its time in the sun and beyond, marvelously capturing the magic of well-written narrative and beautifully executed filmmaking that illustrates the talent and creative thinking that makes independent film the new wave of quality entertainment, with depth, accessibility, and imagination as its driving forces. If we as human beings would fully encompass the concepts of devotion and adoration shown here to their fullest extent amongst ourselves, the world would truly be a much, much better place.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
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