Ankahi Kahaniya brings to us three unusual stories which are relatable and watchable

Nonika Singh

Love, loss and surprising sources of connection and companionship; in a way the short brief of the new Netflix anthology says it all. Unsaid, however, is more obvious than implicit.

Still, there is a piquant quality to all three stories connecting the three tales and connecting us to its telling. Three talented directors Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Abhishek Chaubey and Saket Chaudhary come together to tell a story each. The common factor is how lonely souls in Mumbai find a connection amidst atypical circumstances. The opening short by Tiwari has a lonely man striking a bond with, of all the things, a mannequin. In a virtual world that we all are inhabiting, this connection should not raise eyebrows. But it does create friction in this guileless man’s life.

Abhishek Banerjee, as the rather diffident salesman Pradeep, is evocative and mirrors a gamut of expressions, even when his ‘co-actor’ is lifeless. His interface with the mannequin is suitably animated. His eyes twinkle at her isight, his hands quiver as he puts his arm around her waist. And, there is a lingering ache when he finally utters the words underlying his relationship with a mannequin, underpinning the theme of the story which is rather obvious. Abhishek Chaubey’s short takes us back to 1980s when single screen cinema ruled and the attention to detail is commendable. From the innards of a projection room to the coffee machine to nan-khatai, each prop has been chosen carefully.

Based on a Kannada story Madhyantara by Jayant Kaikini, Chaubey’s film has layers and nuances. He plays up love for cinema to weave a love story that is far from filmy. Its extraordinariness lies in its characters’ ordinariness as well as the narrative style.

The unusual premise is remarkable, so is the manner in which it comes together. The Sairat actor Rinku Rajguru as the young girl besotted by cinema, for whom watching movies is as much an escape from her drudgery as a flight of fantasy is once again at her expressive best.

Her eyes speak volumes and camera can’t help but catch minor inflections of her face. Wide-eyed Delzad Hiwale meets her on the same ground as both his frustration with his present circumstances and dreams of future are writ on his face.

Clearly, the focus on the first two stories is on men and women on the margins, people whom we don’t quite bother to see or notice.

The last segment directed by Saket Chaudhary brings us a slice of modern life and the twist in this tale of adultery is rather engaging. A woman discovers her husband is having an extra-marital affair. She ropes in the husband of the woman her man is having a liaison with. To uncover what led to the affair between the respective spouses, they map the meeting grounds of lovers in question. The journey they set on makes them discover who they are and what they deserve. Soon, the two (wronged man and woman) develop a bond.

What is interesting is the ties that all three films talk about are not physical ‘physical.’ If there is nothing perverse about the relationship with mannequin, the love story of a girl with a cinema attendant too is about self-realisation more than a torrid affair. The narrative in this particular story is pregnant with anticipation till the rather unusual climax unfurls as a far cry from cute boy meet girl romance. Actors in all three shorts are par extraordinaire.

In the last short, it’s refreshing to see Zoya Hussain and Kunal Kapoor etch out their parts with exceptional ease. Taking us to the seen ‘unseen’ world, Ankahi Kahaniya may not be exceptional fare yet is a relatable anthology. Even if the ground it uncovers is not commonplace, it has a ring that rings a bell.