Anupam Barve’s short film urges people to talk to their families about what they are going through
Goshta Arjunchi review: Triggering conversations about mental health
Cinestaan Rating
/ 13min
Sukhpreet Kahlon | New Delhi, 12 Aug 2022 22:00 IST
Anupam Barve’s short Marathi-language film, Goshta Arjunchi, explores themes of loneliness, substance abuse, and mental health.
The film is part of a six-part youth-centric series of short films in Marathi, Goshta Aahe Pruthvimolachi, and has been screened at several international film festivals. Written by Maitreyee Kulkarni, the film stars Geetanjali Kulkarni and Shivraj Waichal.
A young man in his early 20s, Arjun (Shivraj Waichal), returns home drunk late one evening, in what seems to be a routine practice. On reaching home, he finds to his utter surprise, that his mother (Geetanjali Kulkarni) has hit the bottle as well.
The short film concentrates on the predicament that Arjun finds himself in, wherein he feels that his only succour lies in drinking. However, his mother makes him realise the other side of things, as she is the collateral damage when men of the house take to drowning their worries in alcohol.
Through the confrontation between mother and son, a conversation gets triggered and we get to know about the situation that both of them find themselves in, each trying to grapple with their circumstances alone. However, the incident makes them both realise the importance of family and finding someone to talk to.
Geetanjali Kulkarni's performance communicates the gender disparity in the household where men indulge themselves in drink, while the women are left to serve them, and run the house.
Maitreyee Kulkarni's writing captures the mother's helplessness, as well as the son's predicament, where the two of them seem to have been living in their own worlds, unaware of what the other was going through. Sadly, it is the situation in many a home.
Goshta Arjunchi is an effective film, one that prompts us to take a closer look at the relationships in our lives.
Goshta Arjunchi is being screened as part of the ongoing Bangalore International Short Film Festival.