My Melbourne Review: About Kabir Khan’s Representation in Sparkles in Film
‘My Melbourne’ is an anthology film that talks about representation, discrimination, sexuality and interactions about goals. One of these films, ‘Setra’, directed by Kabir Khan, completely bowls you.
The idea of making an anthology film in Indian cinema is still not quite common. First of all, it is difficult for an audience to switch to another subject quickly while drowning himself in one. And second, the transition is often very upset to absorb the film into its entirety. But, in ‘My Melbourne’, even when the subjects are different, they feel so close to the house that you are forced to be a part of the discussion they are trying to start.
Four highly competent Indian filmmakers – Orir, Reema Das, Imtiaz Ali and Kabir Khan, ‘My Melbourne’ appear to be thoughtful and entertaining at the same time. It presents the type of cinema that you want to see as a thinking person, and not more often than the kind of representation you want to see on the big screen.
The first film in Anthology, ‘Nandini’, who is directed by Onir, follows the inhabited life of a line in Australia with her partner. Discussion about sexuality once comes to the dining table, when his father goes to meet after his mother’s death.
The conversation about homosexuality has been on the periphery in mainstream Hindi cinema for a long time. However, it is a matter of a national award -winning filmmaker Onir, which makes you a part of this conversation as if it was never a distant logic in Indian homes. ‘Nandini’ appears slow in parts, but the feelings and relationships of the film draw you back into the story.
In the second film titled ‘Jules’, the story looks like what you have seen or somewhere, but it is its subtle treatment that makes it more complicated. Directed by Arif Ali and Tammy Yang with Imtiaz Ali as a creative director, it follows the story of a newly married Indian, Sakshi in Australia, who develops an unexpected friendship with a homeless woman outside the hotel, on which she works.
This idea is to highlight the spirit of displacement and continuously discover for the belonging of thousands of miles away from home. Sakshi has no connection with her husband, who is arrogant and sexist, who is present to throw her weight as a ‘man’ in a wedding. It takes time to make a relationship with the audience, but once you invest, you become a part of the challenging life of the witness in the city. You smile on her achievements, and when she is worried about not being able to see her future, resonance.
Reema Das’s ‘Emma’ is a wonderful representation of a girl who is trying to fit in her whole life. Emma is a girl with a hearing situation, and the film tries to bring out the conversation about discrimination. Now, this is a subject that is often not discussed in cinema. She is an ideal girl, really talented, with all the abilities to feel her dreams, but the world is not appropriate for her.
‘Emma’ tries to outline the importance of confidence and follow someone’s passion in some words as much as possible. And that is the victory of the film. It is never preaching.
The winner of Anthology, however, is the beautifully dramatic ‘Setra’ of Kabir Khan. The film takes you back to your ‘Chak Day’ Khan! Day of India. It is a director who is obsessed with very perennial stories, and we do not mind it in any way.
‘Setra’ is the story of an Afghan refugee Setra Amiri, who is trying to settle in Melbourne with her mother and elder sister. The film tries to normalize the conversation about breed and discrimination in the city, but it wins you when you see a woman, from a persecuted community, she knows by rebuilding her life in the most emotional way. And you get to see some good cricket!
‘Setra’ is represented by many women, which when they decide to take opportunities, become flags not only for their families, but for the entire community and a nation, known to torture women.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_tk0ein84a
‘My Melbourne’ is based on the real -life stories of migrants in the city, and it leaves an impact. Using cinema to give voice to those who require representation always require some courage. There is no formula to go here. This requires severe ground tasks, simplifying things for the audience, and looking at their challenges.
If your idea of watching cinema is to bring an idea home, then ‘My Melbourne’ does this, and much more. It stumbles with its speed and lack of drama, except ‘Setra’, but its heart seems to be in the right place.
