Much is being written about Anamika Haksar’s GHODE KO JALEBI KHILANE LE JA RIYA HOON. It’s a film that did not find any takers on streaming platforms (hopefully now it will) because of its unconventional storytelling; and whenever friends and acquaintances asked me what it was about, I told them that it was a film that could not be reduced to a logline or premise, which added to the confusion. For the vast majority of filmgoers who have been raised on the traditional ‘dramatic narrative’ form of cinematic storytelling, this film might seem bewildering, resisting any attempts at easy categorization. Dealing with the underbelly of Old Delhi which is shorn of any sentimental embellishment, but not without its wit, ‘post-modern’ could be the nearest attempt at classification of what the film could be about in terms of its style and approaches: a heady mix of realism, documentary, surrealism, and magic realism, interspersed with passages of animation.
But let not these jargons deter you; and also let not the struggles of the filmmaker who is a seminal theater personality provoke the romantic in you to extend your support for her labour of love. Just go and watch this film in the theatres nearest you, in the cities where it has been released. The small television screen cannot do justice to its spectacular mise-en-scene; so if you want to undergo an unprecedented audio-visual experience, spend your weekend wisely.
Ranjan Das is a Mumbai based filmmaker and faculty.