subhendu bhowmik

Did Raj forget to grow up since he had no parents because I've seen better behaviour from orphans. Also, if he thinks he can survive without people, send him to the Sahara. Trust me y'all, this is NOT the happy ending like they tried to manipulate us into buying. Trauma bonding is not cute, neither is verbal abuse.

It's very difficult for me to find the words to justify the very essence of the film however long may I write. Thankfully, by the grace of God I have stumbled upon such a beautiful creation that uniquely captures the unfortunate truth plaguing our present day society and decodes it tastefully. Sandeep Singh's vision, dedication and will is indeed undeniable. "The society we are growing up is not growing up"— this bitterly well said statement reminded me of how despite laws being reformed the societal mentality remains unlawfully obstinate. Safed isn't just a gorgeously painted 'tale' of a pure love, it is also a faithful portrayal of the prevailing insensitivity, ostracization, and the strict gaze of austerity towards the trans community. Usually, I don't write reviews for films but this movie compelled me so strongly to add my own say and interpretation that the easily stirred desperation promted action. To unveil so much in merely a limited running time of 1 hour is undoubtedly commendable, props to Sinha for this masterpiece once again. Similarly, I don't watch too many Bollywood films considering the unavoidable cliche tropes and repetitive principles in the storyline. But Safed has everything that I never imagined I would witness in a Bollywood film let alone the non-inclination for an eye candy model to garner a large field of audience. Speaking of songs; I keep coming back to the music video of "Rang Rasiya" and believe me or not dear reader, this piece fills a void inside me that I didn't know was hollowed. Not to miss the fact that I have replayed Rang Rasiya over 10 times in Spotify yet every play sparks am unexpected newness. Since last night when the film bid its final conclusion, my mind kept running back to the haunting image of a drowning Chandi and Kaali. Neither can I contemplate a single hour without pondering mindlessly about Safed nor resume an activity and this is in fact how emotionally Safed affected me, take it as you will but such has never occured with the films I watched in the past. The foreshadowing and the quotes in this film are nothing short of poetry in itself, in fact daresay I that the whole movie felt like a very harrowing poetry in my eyes as in— "Ye jo tum adha adha bolti ho na- Use tum pura kar deti ho" keeps ringing in my ears. I'm not going to speak much about the acting as I have seen enough so as to not be able to enunciate the perfection perspirating through every single character in Safed. The casting was done ingeniously. They not only brought justice to their characters, they housed them as well, not to mention Abhay Verma especially resurrected Chandi as did Meera Chopra Kaali. Safed depicted an oddly seeping age old stereotype that mankind has made forbidden to utter and many thanks to the film crew for making this possible as I never knew that I longed to watch such a beautifully painted work of art. I wish to have written more elaborately but I decided rather to spare spilling too many spoilers. Also by now, even the words are becoming blurry inside my brain and hence I'll draw halt. I'll cut my review on only one note: Safed isn't a picture that people should watch merely for sense gratification, Safed is a moral that challenges narrow perspectives and inspires humankind to embrace and celebrate modernism as it should be celebrated.