X: Past Is Present

X: Past is Present is easily of the most beautifully photographed and lyrical Indian films that I have ever watched. A collaboration of eleven filmmakers viz Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Nalan Kumarasamy, Hemant Gaba, Pratim D. Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath and Suparn Verma, X: Past is Present stars the endlessly charming and debonair Rajat Kapoor and some of the most talented young actresses working in the industry today including Radhika Apte, Huma Qureshi, and Swara Bhaskar.

X: Past is Present is about a filmmaker who gets overcome by a bout of nostalgia when he meets a girl half his age at a party, as he is reminded of all the women in his life. Sounds like the master Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini's Otto e Mezzo aka 8 1/2? Well, be ready for the surprise of your life as X: Past is Present is nothing like anything you would have ever watched before. It is like a breath of fresh air that contemporary Indian cinema seems to be missing.

It is really a pity that a film like this went relatively unnoticed when it should have been bestowed with all kinds of accolades. Which reminds me of Chandraprakash Dwivedi's brilliant political satire Zed Plus, a gem of a film that I reviewed on IMDb some time back. Movies like these just come and go. The loss of course is entirely ours.

Of the 11 chapters in X: Past is Present, my favorite is 'Chapter III: Knot', written & directed by Raja Sen. and featuring the beautiful Huma Qureshi in a never-seen-before tantalizing avatar. How I wished the chapter never ended. Now, I know why James Bond 007 doesn't prefer the Windsor knot. Here is a film that needs to be watched.

For more on the world of cinema, please visit my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges".

This film is about a film director whose women in the past is intertwined with the present.

The first ten minutes are already horrid, and the rest of the film does not get better. The premise is basically an excuse to have lots of women in a vague erotic setting. The constant pure tones are very annoying. The story does not make sense at all. I cannot say I enjoyed even a minute of it.

Movie started with a promise that it would give an insight into the main characters life and outcome of the events which happen during the movie but everything ended with a disappointment. Movie could not make its point clear and ended on a dull note. A film director who is afraid to settle could have been a good topic but the story did not had depth to create any magic. Only saving grace was Rajat Kapoor and Swara Bhaskar.

I like the film very much, it has several reasons. 1st is that the selection of cast of the movie (Rajat kapoor, Radhika apte and all others) was very good. Despite of bold roles, all of them did their best. Direction is also very good. Past is shown in a very good way. The best thing is that film starts in a mysterious way and ends mysteriously (lefts you kind of shocked). Every single part of movie is connected to other. You can't get away from it once you started. If you put your concentration on any other thing while the movie is playing or you miss a part of it then after some while you will ask yourself, what happened or how did that happened? Hats off for all the cast and directors.

X is "not an anthology" movie directed by 11 directors, an achievement in itself. The movie is a collection of 11 short films tied by one common link- K, the protagonist. K is a self-righteous, little psychotic, and lonely director who's ready to forego real-life experiences to find inspiration for his movies. In the first section 'Past is Present' K meets a girl who reminds him of his first girlfriend. And as he spends the rest of the night with this mysterious girl, he has flashbacks of some unforgettable experiences he has had with different women in his life. Every flashback, directed by separate directors, is entangled with the first section. In the beginning, the movie is a little complex and puzzling, but it disentangles gradually. The film's editing is quite impressive especially considering the film is a fusion of works of 11 directors, each having different working styles and mindsets. A big issue with the movie is that there are so many interwoven tales to tell in only around 100 minutes. It does not allow the viewer to explore the more engaging encounters of K's past. At times K's character shown at different phases of his life seem like distinct individuals altogether. Perhaps the reason is that four different actors play K at different ages. Although the story is of a film director visiting the ghosts of his past, the ghosts seem quite relatable. There are also elements of magic and surrealism present in the story as the director's journey is explored. The performances of Anshuman Jha in the part "Knot" and Swara Bhaskar in "Summer Holiday" are remarkable. X: Past is present is an experimental abstract film and, understandably, many viewers might find it confusing and unsavory. Nevertheless, the movie is, for the most part, entertaining, and the character K is likely to arouse one's curiosity.