About Placebo!

#whatisplacebo

                                                              P   L   A   C   E   B   O:

As the film begins, there is a voice that says “This is a story that I will tell myself many times over to remind myself that it has happened”. It is the 27-year old filmmaker Abhay Kumar from Chandigarh and the story is in the documentary called ‘Placebo’. Recently, I was able to catch up the film in the ‘peepshow screening’ (peepshow because you literally have to peep in order to look at the screen)

Before the voice-over, comes the statistics which states how the probability of getting in MIT is 7%, Harvard is 4% and AIIMS is 0.1%. Just imagine! One might wonder at the level of intelligence, determination and passion of people making it to the institute of such academic excellence. But is that all what it really counts? What about the journey the students make inside the institution both mentally and physically?

After the filmmaker’s younger brother damaged his right hand in an act of violence, the filmmaker wondered at the absurdity behind it. In order to investigate further, he went on to live with the brightest minds of the country in the AIIMS hostel being undercover for the next six months. As a fly-on-wall, he shot extensively, took interviews and documented everything that he could. The stay stretched to two long years instead of six months and the shot footage went approx. 1000 hours. This was the time he really stopped shooting and that too with external factors and constraints. 

Now, lies the biggest question: What is Placebo?  

As the filmmaker when he started to document his observations, less he did realize where it was heading. What started as an observation went on to become bigger, brutal and honest. It took the shape of a truth that covered various aspects such as academic pressure, administration negligence, parental pressure, ragging, depression and suicide.

 Here, the journey of the filmmaker is the journey of the film. He risked everything in order to make something he believed in. When he ran out of resources, he even crowdfunded to complete the post-production and somehow managed all what he could. In the post-screening discussion, he mentioned how for almost seven months during editing, he and his two-member team used to spend countless hours to analyze the footage and to come up with something on the timeline. Now, that’s the conviction of a real filmmaker who never gives up. Something that is brave and inspirational.

There are a lot of things to be liked in the film, particularly the way it beautifully uses animation sequences to enhance the narrative. The visuals shot on Handycam, iPhone, iPad and DSLR are consistent in terms of aesthetics and colors which is done by Siddharth Meer (the man behind Byomkesh Bakshy, Court etc.). Another thing of the film stands out is its non-linear editing which is really powerful, with such a vast footage one really needs to be extra patient about it which is done really well. Editing a 96 mins feature from almost 1000 hours of footage, now that's a monumental task to achieve. 

    

As the movie ends, one realizes the bigger aspect of it. The film engages and holds enough potential to start a conversation in any room. While the film witnesses three suicide cases in the hostel and protests arising from it, it is also saddening to realize how one can loosely use the term ‘depression’ in regular lingo without actually considering its real meaning. It shows while one suffers from it, doesn’t realize what that isolation or the saddening is! The film provides a vocabulary, a grammar to actually address the real aspects of the issue. The fact that mental illness and depression are separate is still often treated as one.  

Post-screening discussion with Placebo's director Abhay Kumar 

The film chooses four protagonists including Abhay's brother and further the filmmaker largely delves deeper into their psychology through extensive interviews which are hilarious and on-point. Those four protagonists are relatable characters, belonging from different backgrounds and having different aspirations from life. It is interesting to see how they makes sense even if they might themselves feel are blabbering bullshit at times.   

   

On the whole, this film is something which must be addressed in order to see what things really are. As we flip through the pages, we might see a news of student studying in Kota coaching factory hanging himself under academic pressure. At that point of time, we actually know what that thing really is, therefore the limitations within the system and policies need to be revived and constructed in a better way. 

A conversation from the film that still cracks me up goes like, a guy talks about how he wants to get clicked by the poolside being totally fit in his trunks but further goes on to contemplate how earlier he was fit but didn’t had a pool and now the situation is reverse. Filled with such honest and fun conversations, this film very effectively says what it really wants to and the hardwork pays off when the audience love is reciprocated. 

One thing for sure, this film is worth everything and something that you might have never seen before. Much love Placebo!

About time!

Last time I blogged, it was about relocating to a new place and the emotions attached to it. The fact that I didn't mention was my ongoing masters course in one of the premier institutes of the country -A.J.K. MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia. Being enrolled in such a prestigious institute wasn't less than any dream for me.

In a few days here, I realized that this was the place for me. Something I always wanted for myself. Five years back, film-making/ photography was something I couldn't even imagine pursuing as my career and today I can't think of anything else.

About time, everything that happened was for a good reason. Suddenly, there was a boost in terms of self-confidence and energy. I became more thoughtful about decisions for future. Being in a film-school, the amount of exposure and learning that I am subjected to is beyond than I have ever been. I became overwhelmed with thoughts every time I start thinking about the journey. But, there is a sense of realization in the way time flies and so will the two years of my masters.

About time, that it doesn't stays. Whether good or bad, it is sure to pass someday. Everyday, I wake up with the thought of learning something. The films we watch, the text we read, conversations we are a part of somehow shapes our perspective about something or the other. More I am engrossed in the world of creative thinking, I am amazed looking at the people how they have excelled. I may not be consumed by the thought that they graduated from the same school, but it sort of inspires and adds to the potential the place holds for individual. Also, at the ends, it's all about giving all that you have in things you believe in.

About time, that we realize there are no shortcuts. All you need is the conviction, belief, self-confidence and you hold the strength to make a difference in somebody's life. As I write this, I may not see the point why am I writing this. But then, these are the things that have been going around my head. I have figured out the direction to which I should be heading and maybe I will achieve things that I have thought for self!

About time, till I write again!