Inspired by the modern people's obsession with their mobile phones, Indranil Banerjee directs a film that shares much similarities with J-horror, but also emits a distinct Bengali flavour.
“Hello” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Rajib enters his room and lies down, when his phone starts vibrating. He closes it off two times, but after the third time it rings, he decides to pick up. Something terrible happens to him then though, as all his contacts are deleted and soon he realizes he is trapped inside his room. The only one he can call is the number who just called him, and soon Rajib finds himself talking with a rather annoyed Sounak, who complaints for him ringing her at 2.30 AM, just before hanging up and turning back to sleep. The man however, keeps phoning and she eventually has to threaten him with calling the police. Soon after, though, he starts laughing manically, while soon the both of them realize they do not remember their names. The short closes with a student reading about his exams, just when his own phone starts ringing.
The comment about how modern people have come to define themselves completely through their phones, to the point that any malfunction of the device can lead to utter despair, is the most eloquent in the film. The unfolding of the story is somewhat cliched, but since the communication of the main point is well-presented, this aspect does not emerge as a significant fault.
Where the short truly thrives though, is on its presentation, and particularly the connection of its visual approach with the narrative. The intensely blue color that eventually surrounds Rajib comes in complete antithesis with the red of Sounak's, with this difference also mirroring their respective behaviour, with the former being in panic and the latter bothered, but calm. This aspect also communicates a sense of eeriness that is also heightened by the voyeuristic framing but, actually, finds its apogee in the very fitting music. The swooshing editing (fitting sound also applies) also works quite well in this regard, while the combination of all the aforementioned highlight Banerjee's filmmaking abilities, since he was in charge of all of them.
Rajib Biswas and Sounak Ray are convincing in their respective roles, with the former having a more difficult part, since he also presents a radical transformation that is artfully acted.
“Hello” is a very interesting short that manages to rise much beyond its 8 minutes, as Banerjee uses a very appealing genre approach to communicate his harsh, but realistic comments.
