WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Each and every day, how much can we truly say we know–or don’t know–about the world we surround ourselves with? When the hustle and bustle of life decides it will take over our very being, especially when it comes to career success and the financial “rewards” it gains us, do we lose sight of what’s actually most important, that needs our attention, and holds more value than any successes we could find? For affluent businessman Mr. Agarwal (Sachin Khedekar), all is well in his mind, focused on his job while his daughter Suman (Gauri Batra) and seemingly distant wife (Sonali Kulkarni) pay a more than evidently frustrating price. But, one day when things take a turn involving his personal driver Ramakant (Jayant Gadekar), the jolt into reality Mr. Agarwal needs might just be around the corner.
Next, my Mind:
Situational, absolutely relatable relevancy, personal inner revelations, and/or perhaps just a good old fashioned wake-up call to one’s mind and priorities all find their way into this wonderfully effective and realistically presented short film effort from writer/director/producer Vineet Sharma , producers Manoj S. Nair and Pranali Sharma, plus executive producer Naveen Shetty which screened as part of the 2021 Virtual South Asian Film Festival presented by Toyota, supported by AARP, produced by Jingo Ventures, and in association with DFW SAFF & NYC SAFF. It reminded this critic yet another time just why the independent film arena is such a fantastic community to be immersed in, as the ongoing push for more thoughtful, grounded, character and narrative-driven films most assuredly gets a chance to make a statement through festivals like VSAFF and through the engaging filmmaking displayed in works like this.
Viewing the actuality of the daily grind through the eyes of an obviously, and honestly at first, obliviously driven businessman, it doesn’t take the narrative’s direction long at all to firmly establish the all-too-real and, sadly often, all-too-recognizable monsters that rear up and show themselves through overtly career-centric mindsets, familial neglect, marital unrest, and the loss of remembering/being reminded of all the things we SHOULDN’T be forgetting about and how they so quickly consume our attention and actions if we’re just not aware. Yet, how we then face that immediate weight of regret, then attempting to “make up for it” only to fall further into the proverbial hole of frustration and the façade of “forgiveness” those affected by our choices, it is a tangibly convicting and sobering set of truths we must admit to and then confront with purpose, and the film’s means by which this is explored very much brings all of this to light in engaging and thought-provoking ways.
It’s also just a perfect little study in human interaction and relationships overall, and like those other aforementioned facets of the thematic angles the film is coming from, this aspect of how we can be so deeply altered and transformed by others is exhibited with stirring impact here, and it really makes the film’s finale that much more meaningful and apropos given all the circumstances that have lead its protagonist to that particular juncture in a journey which does indeed provide a fresh and needed perspective shift. That is also what this critic adored about this project is that manner in which the film delivers this road our lead character is on and how his world is so abruptly changed because of the experience he has, which is that kind of shake-up I sometimes feel we could ALL use in one form or another. Ideally, viewers can come away from this film with a better sense of what it is to maintain that which is beneficial and valuable to more than just ourselves, but rather to all our loved ones and others around us who we could learn a lot from.
Khedekar, like several of the amazing talents presented through these 2021 Festivals, brings to bear his veteran skills on the screen and another excellent performance through his role as Mr. Agarwal, a man who on the surface represents everything people would strive for–stability, financial success, the trappings of this, and family. However, when the situations he finds himself encountering on a particular day become a tense and agitating prompting of just how much he’s actually forgotten the latter element, it takes this to finally cause him to stop and assess things while also ending up at the home of his driver, which serves as an even larger, heartening adventure that teaches him the value of the little things we do for those we cherish as well as just the magnitude of caring that we can muster and provide for those who come across our path. It’s a fully poignant and beautifully effective portrayal Khedekar provides, and it speaks so well to the actor’s ability to capture you with his genuineness and believability as the character. A noteworthy offering.
Likewise, no stranger to many roles himself, Gadekar stands out here with a muted energy and likeability that is so perfectly suited to his role as Ramakant, Mr. Agarwal’s personal driver and a humble man of modest means who ends up becoming an unanticipated source of richness of a different kind when his boss ends up coming to his home. Once there, and even beforehand, Ramakant’s outlook on his life, marriage, and the smaller things that matter impacts Mr. Agarwal in a multitude of ways, much less the final catalyst that occurs which becomes the primary force of evolution in his boss’ attitudes and grander disposition. It’s a masterfully provided performance that Gadekar gives us, and again, it’s the sheer accessibility of the character that makes it so joyful to watch as events unfold, and with Gadekar’s affable demeanor throughout the film, it makes for a fulfilling watch and a character we are totally rooting for to see change another for the better.
Primary supporting roles come to us from the absolutely adorable Khushi Hajare as Khushi, a young girl who plays a major, and pivotal, part in the story which I won’t give away here (watch the film!!), Kshitee Jog as Ramakant’s wife who has a specific “must have” request when it comes to her doting husband and is a key factor that plays into the greater tale, Kulkarni as Mr. Agarwal’s wife who’s, to say the least, not happy with his initially forgetful routines and actions, and Batra as his daughter Suman who also has more than her fair share of reasons to NOT be pleased with her father. Additional appearances are made by Madhuri Gawali, Sashi Ranjan, Ashish Warang, and Prem S. Dharmadhikari. So, in total, “Gajra” furnishes us with keenly presented foundational life lessons wrapped in a sometimes whimsical but mainly dramatic short film effort that illustrates the need we have in this world to step back and take stock of what we place our real love behind while pausing to reflect on those other facets of life we could place a little less emphasis on so that, like the fragrant floral arrangement the title hints at, we too can treasure the beauty of how seeing things in a new light can bring healing, harmony, and happiness.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
