Movie: ‘Time Out’ (2015) is worth your Time

This is not a review. No spoilers.

I got to know about this new film ‘Time Out’ when I accidentally stumbled upon its trailer about a month back. What surprised me was spotting a batchmate from Jamia playing a character role in the film. I had never actually interacted with him but sure I recognised the often-seen face. And as has been the case with Lunchbox, Ship of Theseus, Shahid, Queen, Bombay Talkies and some other films, the appearance of the name of someone I know (either as a good friend or acquaintance) in the credits of the film, superbly excites me. And I'm yet to actively start working in this industry, so I guess the naive and kiddish attitude is fine for now.

This being a Tuesday, apparently the cheapest movie tickets day in Mumbai and because I was in mood for a light-headed entertainment, I decided to go for this film at the nearby multiplex. As I reached the ticket counter, I spotted my batchmate from the trailer with a couple of other mates from college. A brief round of introductions later, we realised we were there for the same show.

A little later, I spotted, who I thought was, one of the lead actors of the film. To confirm, I Googled and checked if I was right. I was- it was Pranay Pachauri. A little more research later, I discovered he and I had as many as 7 mutual friends on Facebook- some from DPS and some from MBICEM. I approached him and a short conversation followed piqued from the 'mutual friends' topic. Apparently he was there for the screening of his film as well.

Watching a film with two of its cast members- that’s a first for me!

As the doors of the auditorium opened, we made our way in. Going by the fact that this was not a very well publicised film and had just a handful of shows each day, I didn't have high expectations from it. My previous experience with Purani Jeans (promising script, poor execution) and a couple of other films had been bad. Being a film student, I somehow tend to take out technical or story glitches automatically.

Time Out is a basic adolescent story of two brothers, their lives, friends and they coming to terms with their individuality. The film addresses homosexuality and its modern understanding in the Indian urban society. It touches the chord of generation gap and conservative mindsets of Indian families. It talks about confusions, acceptance and denial of situations and realities. I won't go into the story of the film. This ain't a review.

What I really liked about Time Out was its real-life depiction of situations without the filmy drama that Bollywood films usually go into. A Delhi upper class setting, simple everyday dialogues, no popular faces as actors, a strong script, natural acting from all the cast members, and good direction on a limited small budget- that's Time Out.

Since earlier this year I worked on Told Untold, a documentary film that shares part of its theme with Time Out, my research and experience has been extensive in the matter that included talking to and meeting a lot of people facing similar issues. A classmate had then raised a question- 'All this is good as long as we are simply talking about it. At the moment when you actually face it, does your outlook still remain the same?' Time Out definitely addressed this.

One could argue that the film simply brings out a problem and leaves it at that or that it ends inconclusively. Just before the credits started rolling I had the same thought for a moment. But then that last shot cleverly captures the basic right of acceptance and its huge value for the lead characters in an insurmountable way. For the character, it's like winning the hugest life battle. And that's the basic idea of the film which, I think, has been executed well by the director Rikhil Bahadur.

Pranay came and met us at the end and I congratulated him and my Jamia mate for the film. There were hardly 30 people in the entire auditorium and I don't think anyone felt disappointed at the end of the film. I wonder why good films like these do not get the promotion and publicity they deserve (Even I tend to write specifically about them on the blog). Give the film a watch before some big budget film takes its space from a theatre near you. Time Out is definitely worth your time.

Here's the trailer to start with: