MIG Fighter Jets usued to be the pride of IAF (Indian Air Force) since 1963 when they were first included in its roster. However, they are now too old to take off properly and have come to be known as Flying Coffins. The IAF however, continues to use them both for training and actual flights, with the result being 110 dead pilots until now. Diganta Dey takes inspiration from this tragedy to create a movie that revolves around the dialogue of a dying pilot in comma, with his wife.
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After an introduction that mixes sounds from Air Traffic control and sirens, the film presents footage from a plane crashed and the corresponding news on TV. The setting then changes repeatedly, through a number of shots taken by a mobile phone, most of which include parts of the sky. During this succession, we listen to the narrating voice of the man, Squadron Leader Mohammad Hussain, who longs for his wife and tries to communicate his feelings through words that could easily be included in a poem (“even the raindrops are crying”). She, on the other hand, tries to take his mind away from the situation by talking about what is going on outside of the hospital. Occasionally he jokes, but the sadness is evident.
Diganta Dey directs a film that has a distinct purpose, of showing the consequences of all those flight “accidents”, something he achieves through the surrealistic notion of a man in comma talking to his wife. The sadness and bitterness is evident in both their words, but it is also quite eloquently communicated through the combination of a number of very beautiful images and the rather morose music. The various takes of the sky and the ones in the rain are the most impressive, highlighting Dey's own cinematography along with the excellent music by Megh Banerjee.
However, the main message of the short seems to derive from a phrase Hussain utters, addressing his wife, “Look for love instead of God”, in a sentence that could be interpreted in a number of ways, but mostly seems to send an anti-war message, particularly regarding ones that are started in the name of religion.
The fact that Dey shot the film with a mobile phone is impressive, and results in a film, which, despite its experimental nature, is quite artful and manages to communicate the director's comments eloquently.
