Nila (2016)

There was something so soothing about this film- the way it was paced, the background music, the overall vibes- that I was not prepared for the emotional onslaught that happened in the second half. I was constantly on the verge of tears and heartbreak, and all I wanted was... I don't know, a little break maybe to collect myself and think a little more deeply about the events and occurrences in the movie. But that's not what cinema is for I guess- you're supposed to be in the moment with the characters and see things as they do. Which is why we form bonds with people we've "known" for a couple of hours at most, and why we carry them with us for years afterwards.

Another reason why this movie will be memorable to me is because I started off by rooting for the male protagonist... only to realise later that you literally can never trust a man. The main characters were both realistically, yet beautifully written. I was so intrigued by Sruthi Hariharan- her talent and her beauty won me over so thoroughly that even before Nila ended, I was impatient to go through the rest of her filmography. Some of her scenes and expressions are so vividly etched onto my brain, even though I just saw them once. I also want to give a quick shout-out to whoever that was responsible for her costume choices in the film. The purples and the golds establish her as "royalty"- the way the male protagonist perceives her. It really ensures that we only ever see her through his eyes, which makes the impending hazy but all too clear realisations all the more painful to witness, and more importantly, to feel. And the ending- as abrupt as it was, I think I like the way it "finished", because it never really did. I know that sentence makes no sense, but what I'm trying to say is that the open ending was probably the only satisfactory way to "end" this movie. Or maybe that's just me, because the friend I watched this movie didn't seem to appreciate this movie the way I did.  But go watch it anyway, it's refreshing to see such content from Indian cinema. Also the way they captured the Indian city in rains is beautiful. Watch it just for that, if you still need a reason to watch.