WATCH THE FILM HERE
First, the Recap:
The fluctuations discovered through intense circumstances tend to unfold in only one of two ways, simply put–beneficially or in complete disaster. However, when an associated situation is perpetrated with premeditated intentionality by someone, the hoped for results could lead to even further, more nefarious purposes–or possibly end up allowing the tables to be turned entirely against the one who planned the scheme in the first place. Then it begs the age-old question–if that be the case, what would you do? It’s nighttime, and an unidentified man storms through the doors and rooms of an apparently sparsely furnished apartment, followed closely by a woman (Hima Singh), with the ensuing argument making it clear that they are not remotely seeing eye to eye on an endeavor he’s involved in.
Making her mind more than adequately known, the woman tries to find some semblance of solace before deciding to take her leave and head outside after her husband has likewise departed. Spotting a cab and assessing its availability, she ends up listening to the cab driver (Yogendra Vikram Singh) yammer on about a new app before finally getting them on their way. As the woman begins to talk out loud about the dissatisfaction she has towards her husband, the driver ends up pulling over to gain them some new cigarettes. But, as events unfold, the driver reveals a more devious and potentially dangerous motive with his passenger, though whether he’ll actually succeed in accomplishing his “goals” soon becomes much more difficult and convoluted than he ever anticipated.
Next, my Mind:
In this, I personally felt, de facto sequel to the previous effort “One Fine Night“, this new eleven minute project from continually growing indie short film powerhouse Monk Creations, director Rantu Chetia, and producer Praveen Kumar brings with it the same overall, equally uncomplicated picture of love and its myriad of forms, trials, lessons to be learned, and the realization that sometimes, even the most unplanned and unexpected results of a given encounter could lead to new revelations of how we see love, ourselves, and what we want to experience when it comes to needing affection from someone, even if how things play out here are perhaps purposefully exaggerated, allowing for both the primary dramatic but then surprisingly comedic elements to surface. Additionally, the notion of how we can often underestimate a person’s fortitude and toughness, whether mental or physical, is addressed during the film’s at first tension-filled, then playfully chaotic, finale.
But before reaching that conclusion, we are first entreated to a sadly common portrait of a marriage gone wrong, where what may have started as love has already grown and distant, especially for the woman who now feels like nothing more than an object to a domineering spouse rather than a desired, cherished treasure. Might it be a relationship originally founded on good intentions and starry-eyed dreams and lust rather than genuine passion, we don’t know, but it still makes a relevant statement about how much this world leans on how things appear on the surface, without actually learning what lies underneath before making the commitment of marriage, and it’s a lesson we can and should all learn from. The reflections on everything though, emphasized here by the woman’s initial taxi ride conversation, illustrates how she refuses to be a victim, standing up for herself firmly, and at least indicating a willingness to perhaps work it all out should her unrelenting hubby choose to. But again, much of this is left to conjecture.
How this particular narrative all winds up, however, becomes the showcasing of what happens when a trusting soul, like this woman, gets confronted with a dire situation that could go any of a dozen directions not in her favor until it gets completely upended and thrown back at its source, the “totally caught unaware” cabbie here for example, creating a newly formed dynamic between the two and, for the sake of lightening things up a little, gets presented in such a way that quite a few laughs are enjoyed as she uses the changing state of affairs as an excuse to force the cabbie into saying everything she’s been wanting to hear from her abusive husband after they’ve had a fight. The panic and total discombobulation this causes the cabbie is a riot in itself, yet when it comes down to it, does this not paint the portrait of how love should be–the desire to find the means to reconcile, acknowledge our faulty actions, and be willing to accept the initial cost of said actions in order to find a better means of addressing differences in the future? This critic feels its these underlying subtleties that make the style in which these concepts are being presented unique and engaging while still providing total entertainment in the end.
Hima Singh delivers another beautiful performance, just as she did via a different tone and manner in “One Fine Night”. Bringing much more than just the physical nature of beauty and attractiveness, Singh radiates tangible vulnerability while still maintaining a confident fierceness that all comes together in her role as the woman, an individual only seeking to be loved wholly, treated with dignity and respect, and made aware that her contributions to mutually beneficial endeavors are intelligent and worthwhile to be considered in marriage and the business deals her husband strives. Instead, she is merely seen by him as a party favor or trophy, only good for homemaking, which understandably sets her off on what becomes quite an eye-opening nighttime cab ride and a new connection with someone that begins innocently, goes to an unforeseen, at first terrifying place, and then ends up with a solid statement about female empowerment and maybe just a little hint of situational manipulation to get what she wants. It’s all quite the merry abundance of extremes, both potent and hilarious throughout the effort, with Singh absolutely embodying these ups and downs the character experiences with passion and evident drive.
Yogendra Vikram Singh provides us with another fine performance as well, following up his role in “One Fine Night” with this effort as the cab driver, a man who seems to have a knack for playing and promoting apps, being totally affable and relatable to his customers, then apparently not being quite as innocent as we would be lead to believe, all while then proving he’s got at least one weakness–crumbling in the face of a strong woman who isn’t going to take being seen as nothing more than a fragile flower to be mistreated or taken advantage of anymore. His overall demeanor is perfectly down to earth, a nice, normal “everyman” as they term it, yet within him seems to lie a not always dormant sense of needing to, perhaps, intimidate those he feels are easy to use for amusement or other less savory things. Yet, seeing him do his “act” and then get all his scheming pushed firmly back in his face is a wake-up call to anyone who would misjudge another person, especially a stranger they’ve only just met. It truly gets to the heart of how quickly he thinks he’s got the upper hand, most likely because this fare is a woman, but he finds out none-too-soon that playing with fire is not a good thing when the fire strikes back–and demands apologies, et al. Singh is wonderfully believable as this gleefully devious cad, and fully entertaining to watch him enact this character, which he puts his all into for best effect.
In total, even including a literal plug for the actual MPL app displayed in the film through a small “Thank You for watching the film” snippet post credits that’s hosted be the two Singhs, “One Fine Night 2” is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor and very effectively provides us with another necessary viewpoint love and all that it can entail, wrapping it up in a nicely creative dramedy package for the masses to take in and enjoy.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
