Soupçon, In Memoriam, VI. vi

                            Soupçon III                                                        In Memoriam Series                                                           VI.vi     

Around the time this film, "Sairat"  (2016) was released, in that decade, Marathi filmography was inundated with love stories. Manjule's "Fandry" (2013)  and Ravi Jadhav's "Timepass" (2014), too, for example, dealt with young puppy love, with infatuation. 

What is most remarkable about "Sairat" is the fact that in the post interval period, it shows how romance looks when reality hits it. After the couple board the passing train, they thus land up in Hyderabad, an unknown city where the language is alien, too. 

After impossible adventures of the worst kind, they get some solace from Akka whose ghetto tenement they have to share, a fact which is tough on "Archana Patil" , born and brought up in the lap of utmost luxury.

For daily upkeep, they have to resort to unthought of professions. "Parshya", a budding poet, a promising cricketeer, has to be a help at Akka's "dosa thela." As they have only each other to take out all such frustrations, despite their saviour/landlady's kind advice, there are misunderstandings galore so much so that Archie almost boards a train back home,while Parshya attempts suicide. 

It is such realism, which broke the mould of  a cute love story as a nostalgic memory that may be seating, that makes "Sairat" special 

Pratima Agnihotri