Short films have a very delicate line to walk. In the brief duration that they have, short films are meant to engage, excite and, then, adequately render, to the audience, a satisfactory resolution. Much of it depends on pacing and, of course, condensed writing. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’, written and directed by Rahul Bhatnagar, is one such short film that pulls this off flawlessly. It is filled with endearing and comical moments that bring levity to the awkward situation that the protagonists find themselves in. Moreover, and possibly, more importantly, the film plays incredibly well to the Indian sensibility by taking the concept of an arranged marriage and fusing it with an incredulous dilemma.
Set on the eve of a wedding, ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ follows the eponymous Pinki, played by Mugdha Agarwal, and the supposed groom-to-be, Bittu, played by Vikram Bhui. Everything seems all fine and dandy except for the fact that Pinki might just be in love with someone else. And that’s pretty much all I will give you. Spoiling the film any further will rob you of the punches that the film throws at you. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ is one of those films that doesn’t really attempt to challenge the genre it falls in. Rather, it focuses on delivering the best of what the genre promises you. It is, after all, a feel-good movie.
What we can touch on, however, are the beautiful performances by both leads. Mugdha Agarwal’s portrayal of Pinki will have you scratching your heads in one moment and, then, wishing you could just wrap a blanket around her in the next. Agarwal manages to be incredibly mercurial with her character, capturing the quiet strength of the Pinki while also harnessing her chaotic energy. Surely, we all know someone like Pinki, someone who seems helpless but belies their inner strength.
Vikram Bhui, as Bittu, is the epitome of the perennial ‘bro’. Do you know those moments where one of your friends manages to land themselves in a situation that is absurd and hilarious at the same time? That’s Bhui’s Bittu for you. Bhui, as Bittu, flits from one scene to another, clutching and cursing at his situation but bearing it all the same. Bhui will have you sympathising with Bittu, of course, but will have you laughing at the character as well. Personally, there is a friend of mine who said something very specific every time we found ourselves in a bit of a situation. It went along the lines of ‘Let Jesus take the wheel’. That, I believe, perfectly captures Bittu. He is there and he has to deal with it.
Rahul Bhatnagar has done an incredible job at laying out a script that paces itself so incredibly well. Most short films have this internal struggle where they grapple with the idea of establishing some narrative background and, in the process, lose out on setting a tightened narrative pace. ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’ does not suffer from that. In fact, I would even go out to say that the short film doesn’t contain one single dull moment. On the contrary, it manages to pack in a surprising lot of things in its short 25-minute runtime.
Watch ‘Pinki Ki Shaadi’. You will only be doing yourself a favour.
