Laali

A short but delicate tale of objectophilia of a laundry man with an unclaimed red dress in his shop. Tripathi's one-note roles in his previous films have somewhat ignored his versatility as an artist, but this short explores him to his proper caliber. A man who doesn't indulge in small talk but longs for a true companion is portrayed beautifully by Tripathi. The director relies on background noises, radio broadcasts quite skillfully to establish the premise of the film.

There is some resemblance to Ankahi Kahaniya's story with Abhishek Banerjee but it's not the same at all. Tripathi's loneliness never finds solace. He's left all alone again when he starts hoping in something in his life. You don't have to be like him to feel this kind of loneliness and despair. Do watch it. Appreciate every frame of it. We are all alone or we'll be left alone at some point in life.

I could totally relate to this short tale. I have no friends and other than my parents, noone else loves me, no girl loves me. I live in a PG in a single room with no friends and I spend my time just like the masterji in this film. I talk to my crush just looking at her picture and other times listen to music or watch web series / movies to keep myself entertained but somewhere , I do yearn for friends and their love.

Laali is exactly this. Story of a lonely tailor in Kolkata who finds some love in an supposedly abandoned red dress belonging to a female. My problem with this film is, it could have added some extra minutes to establish the relation between the tailor and the red dress to give a much greater impact at the end, sadly it doesn't, which is why I felt the film to be just decent.

It has long one takes, the opening shot being the longest one take I have seen in recent times. It is confined to the shop only.

Overall, if you are a lonely guy trying to find some love and friendship in your life, you can relate to this film.

Pankaj Tripathi doesn't even need to talk to make a good scene.

Laali is about loneliness and longing, how sometimes we just start contemplating associating certain things to the people we love.

Laali is somewhat a special film that creates its own tiny universe with a lonesome Pankaj Tripathi whose daily job is to iron clothes for a living in Kolkata's suburbs. The opening is a a 9-minute static take and the film immediately immerses the viewer in his inner world and we can see that there is life and emotion. Pankaj manages with minimal gesticulation based mainly on the nuances of his eyes and his smile, it makes you to feel the vacuum of the character.

As time progresses, Pankaj finds a companion and it is an unclaimed red dress, he begins to cheer up and you watch him with excitement and worry. The repetition of motifs is quite simple and everyday story, might even seem pointless as the character ends his day with liquor. The music, radio show segment is attuned to each other and subtly provides a view his world. Overall, Whatever the judgements for the character, it starts to slip away, and we start to feel some affection for this laundryman.