Category: Comedy

Purana Pyaar ★★★★½

A sweet romantic short film about a couple who found each other in the old age, and… ran away together!

Synopsis: Mrs. Sharma and Dev like each other and they want to be together. Like hundreds of the love stories, there families might not like it, and there is pressure to conform to social norms… But they still elope, together. The catch? They elope from an old age home!!

Our chitchat: After watching this film and the one before it – Khamakha – we are seriously thinking to add a new category – ‘soothing’ – in addition to traditional ones like comedy, thriller, satirical etc. which you regularly see on the review sites. After all, many a times, don’t we look out for entertainment just to sooth ourselves? Just to give us a break from all the hustles and bustles of the city? To find a corner away from daily activities? Purana Pyaar and Khamakha both have such a calming effect in this era of chaos and noise.

What works: This sweet short film has Mohan Agashe and Lillette Dubey in lead roles. The duo has acted very well, as is expected. Their simplicity in small things and actions bring the life in this short. The very small actions, as much as holding hands in a public bus is presented with such pleasantness. The slowness of the small town is captured not through words, but by the moving camera, narrow streets and leisurely walks. The short soothes you and while at it, gives you good music. As an added bonus, the scenic beauty of Dehradun is very well captured.

Negatives: There is no negative I could find in the movie except that it does not have any hook or a major climax or any suspense. Don’t expect it. We don’t expect it in our daily lives. Just watch and enjoy.

Verdict: Recommended for everyone.

AglaPlay Verdict: A soothing, sweet short film, must watch!
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~20 minutes
Writer: Ambar Chakravarty
Director:  Ambar Chakravarty
Cast: Dr. Mohan Agashe, 
Lillette Dubey 
& Others

Laugh ★★★★

Short film contrasts three friends spending evening together in pre-mobile and current times, and tries to explore the real meaning of laugh.

Synopsis: Enacted by the best of the actors – Sanjai Mishra, Sheeba Chadda, Vrijesh Hirje & Brijendra Kala – the short movie highlights the contrast of pre-mobile days with today. It shows what the laugh should be. The trio of friendly neighbors are enjoying an evening together in 1967 and then the scene jumps to communication among same friends in 2016.

What works: The boorishness of the film actually works. The unmannerly conversations of three friends without any concerns whatsoever towards the sophistication is tear-jerking! The film is a must watch for a laugh and a reminiscence of older days.

The dialogues are also uncomplicated but are charming to the core. In the first few scenes itself, the play of words by Vrijesh with Sheeba will tickle you. There is also a joke which is central to the short film’s narrative. Please don’t expect much from it… It is just raw, lewd and disgusting, but still that joke and this whole film carries itself with such aplomb.

Parental Advice for Young Audience: Some parts of the movie are lewd and inappropriate for younger audience. Besides, the film might be irrelevant or ‘period’ for anyone who grew up in Whatsapp generation.

AglaPlay Verdict: A must watch, few pieces are inappropriate for younger audience
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~8 minutes
Writer: Akshay Choubey
Director:  Akshay Choubey
Cast: Sanjai Mishra, 
Sheeba Chadda, 
Vrijesh Hirje,
Brijendra Kala &
Lateesha Dorik

Family Business ★★★★

A 20-minutes comedy play about a jobless MBA who is being persuaded by his father to join the family business.

This one-act play starts with a successful business man’s corporate AGM. This successful business tycoon was not born rich, though. As an young MBA graduate he failed to land a job for two years. All those two years, he was also being persuaded by his father to join the family business, which the protagonist didn’t want to.

This short comedy play tells the story of this young man, his passion, the family pressure and his eventual rise to riches – all in bite sized presentation of 20 minutes.

There are a few versions available online. There are minor differences between them with the dialogues. I would suggest 2017 version performed at Prithvi because of audio and video quality (link below).

2017, Open Stage, Prithvi Theatre2019

AglaPlay Verdict: A must watch, suitable for audience of all ages
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~20 minutes
Writer: Om Katare
Director:  Om Katare
Cast: Rajesh & Others

Radhesham Lodge ★★★

A short film on a peddler who does some suspicious business in broad daylight. Will he get caught?

There is a peddler who seemingly sells some illegal stuff on the road. He has regular customers and seems to be doing pretty well. Old and new both customers are pretty well aware of his location outside Radhesham lodge where he does his business in broad daylight.

The short film stands out on all technical aspects – the direction, cinematography, VFX, the music – are all done very well. The lead Ranjan Raj brings the character to life. The film should be watched for the freshness itself if not for anything else!

AglaPlay recommends to watch the film once for its freshness and the performance by the lead. 

AglaPlay Verdict: A short social comic movie
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: 10 minutes
Writer: Pulkit Goyal and Others
Director:  Pulkit Goyal
Cast: Ranjan Raj(Peddler),
Dhananjay Uppalwad,
Abhigyan Joshi,
& Others

Love in December ★★★★

A sweet romantic comedy enacted by IIT Bombay students, the play tells the story of Rahul and Tina who meet at Virar railway station.

‘Love in December’ is a sweet college play performed by IIT Bombay students. Several years have passed since it was performed. Few jibes which were contemporary at that time will seem out of time, but it still has that quality that innocent humor that will remain timeless.

Our hero, Rahul meets a girl at Virar railway station. The girl is none other than his school-time crush, Tina. What happens next? Rahul never had courage to share his feelings with Tina when he had all the time and opportunity in school days. Tonight, he has four hours that too thanks to delay in arrival of the train. Even those four hours are not without incidents, anyway. Besides, Tina has a boyfriend now!

This romantic comedy is executed very beautifully on all aspects. The dialogues, the performances are top notch and at par with professional theatre. There are a few compromises in the setup and the wardrobe, like policeman wears Friday casuals in the play, but nothing that is a deal breaker. That is understandable given the budget and other. There are no compromises on the content and the performance – and that only matters. Music also suits to the situations and is timed well.

The play would be enjoyed by audience of all age group, but I believe that those in late-20s to 50s may relate it to a bit more – the absence of Whatsapp, before Facebook became popular, and people still had Nokia. Another minor shortcoming is that the video’s best quality available is 480p only with not very good audio capture. Also, there is no noise-cancellation from the audience as the play was filmed during live performance.

AglaPlay Verdict: A very beautifully done sweet romantic comedy
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1 Hour+
Writer: -
Director:  -
Cast: Nitin Gupta(Rahul),
Vipul Goyal(Friend),
& Others

Watch now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-YDd43P71o
Love in December: a beautifully done college stage play