Two twin brothers are brought in for questioning after witnessing the shooting of a friend by the police. Understanding the sensitive situation, the two brothers speak out in different ways about how they saw the events. However, their different responses still contrast to the narrative the police are trying to push and their presence alone becomes a point of contempt.
“Phir Kya Hua!?” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Presented as social commentary on police corruption, “Phir Kya Hua!?” acts as a statement over a cinematic experience. Delivered with a dingle camera set up, with two different subjects being interviewed, the focus is on telling the tragedy of a remarkable life snuffed out too soon due to police misconduct. In message alone, the production proves successful in capturing both the rage and fear of the corrupt authority as the two brothers take drastically different approaches under police integration. If anything can be said about “Phir Kya Hua!?”, is that it captures strong emotions with sincerity – an honest plea for reformation of a corrupt system.
Outside of the message, the production offers little with its simplistic set up making commentary on cinematography or visuals a moot point. At the same time, the budget restraints are obvious with poor audio quality, over saturation of light and single angle shot showing the lack of equipment (possibly experience) to make the short film pop.
The performances are convincing, the lines read with a conviction that reflects the filmmaker's passion for the subject. Furthermore, the contrasting personalities from each actor feels reflective of views of wider population. Despite this, there is a lack of range that is easy to attest to the short run time doing a disservice to the amount of emotional out pour that can be attributed to such stark injustices. Overall, all aspects of the production outside the narrative are serviceable at best, but this does not distract from the importance of the message.
Billed as ‘an accidental short film' it is hard to say if that means the production was rushed to be put together on a fling, or if it speaks to the ‘accident' that caused the untimely death of a friend. Regardless, the amateurish production still garners appeal in its passionate approach and sincerity – there will certainly be an audience who will appreciate the story Mithun Debnath tells.
