Introduction –
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s short film MAYA forces us to recall his 2009 feature film Antaheen. While the former exploits telephone chat to move the story forward, the latter uses internet chat messenger. However, the similarity ends there.
Synopsis –
Maya revolves around two characters – Anjan ( Abir Chatterjee ) an introvert man in his late twenties and Maya ( Padmapriya ) an extrovert, bubbly and a witty girl in her mid-twenties.
Anjan visits Maya’s house every evening to learn piano from her father. Over several interactions and some amusing conversations ( mostly initiated by Maya ) the two become friends. He is amazed at her friendly demeanor because she even cracks jokes with the person who’d misdialed the number. In short, Anjan is madly in love with Maya.
One day, he opens up his Uncle’s small suitcase which is filled with trousers, coat, cap, sunglasses and assorted accessories. Anjan dresses up in his clothes and dials Maya’s number. Over the next few weeks and hours of telephonic conversation, Anjan impresses Maya with his deep, meaningful and confident talk, but never discloses his identity. He communicates with her as a complete stranger.
Then one evening, after Anjan finishes his piano classes, Maya tells him that she needs to pick up some books from her friend’s place and would like to walk with him. The two finally stop outside a residential building. After the small talk ends Maya reveals that she is in love with the person who calls her every night. She also confesses that this person is different, has amazing perspective and actually changed her way of thinking. She says isn’t it madness? And then sums up that irrational longing with the following dialog –
If there is so much solace in this madness then it can never go wrong.
The revelation turns Anjan thoughtful. Back home he slips his Uncle’s belongings back in the suitcase and pushes it above the cupboard. Is Anjan suffering from split personality disorder? Are these nocturnal changes self inflicted so that he can woo Maya or does he experience these shifts because of his Uncle’s clothes? It is left to the viewers to interpret.
Analysis –
Cinematography, direction, shot composition and lighting is top notch, although in some places the use of filters seems a little excessive or maybe the scene was deliberately underexposed. Padmapriya is brilliant and her timing spot on. Abir Chatterjee on the other hand plays the role of an introvert lover with the right expressions and gestures. Superb background score enhances the overall visual impact.
2018 Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury 17 minutes 30 seconds Minutes YouTube