Shuruaat Ka Twist review: A fascinating collage of stories that stand out for their inventive concepts

Anthologies often build around a theme, and in doing so, sometimes come across as predictable. HumaaraMovies' latest one, Shuruaat Ka Twist, escapes that bump in the road with the help of its innovative stories that are relatable, funny, and satisfying. The latest collection of films from Hanish Kalia, Praveen Fernandes, Heena D’Souza, Sanjiv Kishinchandani, Avalokita Dutt, Gaurav Mehra, is fascinating and worth a watch. 

The short films are mentored by some well-known names like Rajkumar Hirani, Vikramaditya Motwane, Raj Kumar Gupta and Amit Masurkar. This explains the elegant nature in which the narrative unfolds. Each film unfolds to a different ethos that reflects the mentor's style pretty clearly. 

Praveen Fernandes's Tap Tap builds on Chunkey Pandey's out of work composer desperate to try and create a tune to get him back into the limelight. Pandey delivers as the man struggling to accept his reality, but the film's twist feels a little forceful and manufactured. 

Some of the stories like Hanish Kalia's Khauff and Gaurav Mehra's Guddu offer some interesting twists to the end. While you can see them coming, their arrival offers a certain cathartic satisfaction. In that, the narratives are well structured. 

Heena D'Souza's Adi Sonal is a film that stands on some fine acting displays. Neena Gupta's turn, as the harried mother-in-law holding together a joint family, while her youngest daughter-in-law (Trimala Adhikari) struggles to escape it, is a wonderful example. The two actresses embody opposite sides of the divide, and yet understand each other the best. The film is well layered and impresses. 

Avalokita Gupta's Gutthi and Sanjeev Kishinchandani's Bhaskar Calling occupy the more lighthearted parts of the anthology. While Gutthi has shades of its mentor Amit Masurkar's dark sense of humour, it offers a fresh view of the relationships formed between roommates in an increasingly solitary city of Mumbai.

Kishinchandani's Bhaskar Calling is a commercial work that has all the elements of a Rajkumar Hirani story, including a reference to Murali Prasad Sharma (Munna Bhai MBBS, 2013). It is entertaining, but seems to lose the plot towards the end with the addition of an unnecessary song. That could have been done away with. 

In all, the package of stories has its rough edges and flaws, but feels like a new addition to the idea of established filmmakers mentoring a new generation. While it might still need to up the technical elements, each of these films is based on a rooted, balanced story and innovative concept that end with a twist.