The Social Cut is a monthly column that critically analyses various media shows, movies and documentaries, from an intersectional, feminist standpoint. In this article, Manogni T analyses the Bollywood movie ‘October’.
October is a film about the ordinary and the circumstantial, it is neither a wholehearted love story nor a feel-good movie. It is, however, a 1-hour 55-minute story that questions the normalcy and passiveness of everyday life with a bountiful reverence to empathy. It is also a slice of life film that does not try to overtly appeal to its mass audience. Directed by Shoojit Sircar——a multifaceted movie maker, the film is a slow-cooked dish. One has to wait to fully realise the journey. The film has the ability to showcase the actions of mundanity in a light where they are questioned, almost nudging the audience to contextualise it’s purpose even if there is no definite explanation. October is simplistic in its manner of execution but the central perspective is aberrant.
The movie begins with a sequence inside the Radisson Blu; a 5-star luxurious hotel in New Delhi where foreigners are peppered across and luxury is a strongly upheld virtue. At the hotel, plush gold-toned hallway carpeting and crystal clear champagne glasses are the status-aesthetic. Here, Dan portrayed by Varun Dhawan is a hotel management trainee who is simply dissatisfied with his work, and is constantly prying away from doing his tasks acceptably and is almost always unable to control his impulses. He dreams of running his own restaurant and talks about the originality of start-ups with admiration. On the other hand, Shiuli, played by Banita Sandhu is a junior trainee who is a model employee.
She does her duty and seems to have a faint friendship with Dan. The rising action of the film is when Shiuli slips from the 3rd-floor terrace and we are left with a shot of her blood smeared twitching body. Sircar does not shy away from showcasing the reality of the situation. There are no harsh cuts but rather focused attention on the grotesque nature of her injury. This event starts a chain reaction. Dan becomes obsessively involved in Shiuli’s medical recovery from comatose especially after he uncovers her last words which were “Where is Dan?”. Varun Dhawan’s performance is natural and instinctive. He is immersed in Dan’s life and there is no evidence of him faltering from the trance of October. Banita Sandhu, who is a newcomer, performed emotionally engaging sequences only with the help of her eyes and much credit to Shoojit Sircar for realising the mood of indifference which coma patients elicit.
In toto, October is impeccably consistent. There aren’t extreme changes in the overall mood of the film, even with events that spark a shift in the story, the film is still hinged with a feeling of melancholy, routine and grief. The script written by Juhi Chaturvedi was an instant surprise. It encapsulates the multilingual notion of diasporic India and transposes itself to the roles and setting, creating a convincing reality with balanced characters. Shiuli’s family plays an important role in her recovery and Dan’s progress as a character. He slowly becomes incredibly attached. He begins to lose sight of his trainee position and delays his rent. The motivation behind why a character like Dan suddenly tries to aid Shiuli when in the past there was no history of a strong bond or kinship between them is undefined, leaving the narrative unsatisfactory and incomplete. Cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay is rich and subtle. However, it still manages to energise the whole scene with a limited colour palette. The Performance delivered by Gitanjali Rao is in gradience. She enables the grief of a mother to swallow her expressions and lets them out when hope enters her world.
Shoojit Sircar manages to produce an entire narrative around the delicate garnering of Night Jasmine’s from their fallen positions; creating symbolic importance for these softly scented flowers. It strengthens the bond between Dan and Shiuli——also another name for Night Jasmine. In October, love is attention. The film weaves sudden Coma into strong kinship and puts into perspective the trajectory of life as well. Overall, October is wistful in its nature and the talented production of the film aids the artful depiction of a unique but realistic story.
Manogni T is a Blogger at One Future Collective.