Watching this experimental short film performed exceptionally well by its lead actor Vikas Kumar (giving a rare solo performance), I honestly recalled what I had in mind witnessing two completely natural actors in the past in their early TV performances more than a decade back.Those were the days of Star Best Sellers and Bhanwar TV serial making an instant connect with all thinking viewers, and the actors I cherished watching in a few specific episodes were Irfan Khan and Kay Kay Menon respectively making a rock solid impact. Feeling the difference in their individual acts, one could easily sense that these two names are sure going to be one of the most respected identities in the world of TV & cinema sooner or later. And the insight eventually proved to be very right in the recent years with Irfan even managing to make a decent, respectable breakthrough into the western cinema.
Coming back to the present, I had a similar feeling watching Vikas Kumar in his early days of TV serial Powder and then playing the guilt-ridden government officer in director Saurabh Kumar’s much appreciated Handover (2011-12/Unreleased) based on a shocking real life incident of our rural India.
The latest short film titled ABS NT (Absent) completely focusing on the actor in extreme close-ups and unconventional one-shot camerawork once again proves my personal perception right, as an intense performance like this is sure to be a pretty tough task for even many established names of the industry, heavily relying and reaping the benefits of their family backgrounds.
No doubt writer-director Devashish Makhija deserves an equal praise for his well-conceived short film talking about a burning, relevant truth of our ‘stuck’ society. But in reality many of such thought provoking, well written scripts often keep lying in the drawers in search of a gifted actor who can truly bring that vision on screen as desired by its original creator.
Luckily Devashish could find Vikas to portray his brilliant concept on screen in a highly touching, emotional manner reaching out to the target audience. And I am sure every single person watching these six minutes of work would readily agree with the praises being showered upon both, unarguably.
An exemplary film (a must watch for the aspiring students of the medium), gets its title intentionally written as ABS NT, not displaying or mentioning the letter ‘e’, exactly like the film that leaves you with several ‘unanswered’ emotional questions in mind about the character, a father-daughter relationship, the society, the traditions and lot more.
So do give a few minutes of your precious time watching this short film ABS NT, particularly if you are a father having a kid girl at home practicing her first steps or a young daughter just stepping into those crucial teen years of experiencing many personal dilemmas.
Spoilers Ahead (Read this strictly after watching the film)
As per the official description given along the Youtube link, it’s about a father remembering her daughter from the day she was born, took her first baby steps, became a teenager and then decided to get married to her own chosen partner of life. How he never could be there by her side in all these years and now it being too late to meet her for the last time showering the unexpressed fatherly love.
However if you consider the film from a completely different angle relating the six minutes content to another social curse widely in news in the recent times, then it becomes even more hard hitting and meaningful as I personally felt (that might not be acceptable to many).
For me ABS NT could also be about a father, who had actually killed his young daughter in a fit of rage knowing the truth of her marriage with a young man belonging to another religion. A father who is now deeply regretting his evil act and desperately willing to see her again, recalling the memories of her birth, the first baby steps and her transformation into a young girl with a painful guilt. A father, who knows that she is dead, but is not willing to accept the truth and requesting for seeing her face for the last time before he is finally hanged till death. A father who never could be a father in his whole life and just remained a parent caring about the society a lot more than his own kids.
The film becomes more expressive and touching seen with this particular angle but then that’s my own interpretation of the theme which might not appeal to many due to their own reasons.
Concept / Story / Screenplay / Direction: Devashish Makhija
Music: Arijit Datta
Cast: Vikas Kumar, Pawan Singh, Mirat Trivedi.
