Fireflies
DIRECTOR: Sabal Singh Shekhawat
CAST: Rahul Khanna, Arjun Mathur, Monica Dogra, Shivani Ghai
Ratings: *1/2
An off-Bollywood movie, mostly in English, risks coming off all precious and stilted. Fireflies has characters who are comfortable in English (in fact, when a couple of them have spoken in Hindi in previous parts, they’ve sounded as if they would be better off in English), which is a good thing.
But there isn’t really much going in this film, which tells the story of two brothers and a sister, in moody, picturesque flashback. Shiv (Khanna) and Rana (Mathur) spin off in different trajectories, and are seen in a “relationship” apiece: the former in a sterile marriage bumping into an old flame (Ghai), the latter getting close to a girl (Dogra) who fetches up at his Bangkok bartending gig, and is all “f—d up”.
There are patches which feel well-observed, especially when they are based in Mumbai’s swish spots: pretty people talking about London flats, and well-attired investment bankers in their offices with a view. And, towards the end, when the reason for the bad blood between the brothers becomes apparent, the outlines of a plot become discernible. I liked Arjun Mathur, an actor who underplays well, and raises the pitch when required: he stands out in the ensemble.
The rest is a nicely-shot rehearsed ramble.
shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com
