Titli, une chronique indienne

Co-written and directed by Kanu Behl, TITLI is undoubtedly one of the most hard-hitting films of the year with performances capable of shaking you well establishing a highly relatable connection with the viewers, especially with the people living in Delhi and NCR. But unfortunately it's not the same Delhi anymore on the screen that once had all positive vibes and a unique freshness as seen in films such as Sai Pranjpye's CHASHME BUDDOOR in the 80s.

Interestingly Kanu Behl was also associated with two other projects using the backdrop of Delhi in their respective story lines and they were Dibakar Banerjee's OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE (2008) and LSD: LOVE, SEX AUR DHOKHA released in 2010. However where these films specifically focused on the Punjabi ambiance of the West, North or the Central Delhi, TITLI thoughtfully takes you into the virgin lanes of East Delhi (lower middle class regions of Yamuna Paar to be specific) painting a different picture of the city moving ahead of all the earlier films mentioned above.

In other words, it's this authentic portrayal of the small adjoining houses of the region, the narrow lanes, huge sewer lines, tough living conditions, regular petty fights in the locality, unemployed youth looking for some easy money, numerous cases of road rages, builders lobby, easy availability of local ammunition, involvement of Police in even the small crimes and more, that exactly becomes the first strong merit of the film demanding a much deserving praise for its director along with his talented team of writers, art- director and the cinematographer in particular.

The second powerful merit of the film is its highly engrossing, impressive as well as disturbing performances that actually don't let you think anything else till it all gets over on an open note (following a set pattern). The cast ensemble brilliantly portrays the story of a dysfunctional family of 3 brothers and a father, with the elder brother going through a divorce and the youngest unwillingly getting married to a pretty girl, with a purpose of using her in some hidden criminal acts of the family not many are aware of.

Towering them all, Ranvir Shorey as the elder brother simply nails it with a haunting act full of terrifying anger, rage and violence. Amit Sial as the second brother presents a balanced act with a touch of kindness too. And Shashank Arora as the youngest (Titli) delivers an intense performance of a confused yet desperate youth willing to get out of his family's deadly mess at the earliest. Lalit Behl enacting their father (director's own father) impresses you in a different manner with his awkward lost mannerisms and body language.

But its actually Shivani Raghuvanshi as Neelu (Titli's wife) who simply wins the contest along with Ranvir playing a strong girl living with her own agenda of life that in reality has no sane meaning or direction, performing sportingly in the masterstroke scene where she pisses out of fear in the car itself.

Together director Kanu Behl, his co-writer and the team conceives a film that simply isn't interested in any spoon feeding (about the past) but does have a detailed visual description of the present life lived by its key characters with many small indicative insertions like the way they dress, eat, brush, gargle and talk to each other in a lingo that is so close to Delhi's real life found in such lower middle class colonies. Though its stomach churning violence and raw treatment might not be a pleasant feature for a larger section of viewers looking for their usual entertainment, but with a brisk story progression and crisp editing, the film doesn't drag at all and also provides the much needed relief factor too through some intelligent dark humour placed at regular intervals.

Stating its major drawbacks, the film is just perfect in its opening sequences and impresses you strongly in these initial moments till they decide to get their youngest brother married to an even smarter girl. And its from here onwards that the narration tends to become quite filmy as well as overdone at times with no investigations shown for the regular loots undertaken by the brothers in the same region, easy & mindless stealing of the trial-car (probably) killing the salesman too in the broad daylight with no chasing of police and then intentionally breaking the girl's right hand with a consent just to avoid the signing of a FD document. Besides, at one end the family is shown to be living in poor conditions throughout the film (though eating chicken most of the time in their meals), but on the other they are regularly looting rich travellers, taking away their cars too with no mention of where the money acquired from those crimes goes, skipping it completely.

However my biggest problem was with 'the unusual marriage' shown, that was just not believable right from the first scene itself where the two families and the couple meet each other.

Strangely the writers were least concerned about this particular point and just to move their story forward, simply decided to assume the girl's parents readily agreeing to the mismatched marriage as two dumb individuals doing nothing to fulfill their big parental responsibility and having no issues in sending their young, beautiful girl to the unacceptable house of such horrifying criminals only because she was having an affair in the past and they wanted to get rid of her at the earliest.

Yet concluding the review on a positive note, you should surely watch TITLI for all its praiseworthy, intense performances rising much above the hard to believe sequences in terms of reality. Because though it isn't perfect, the film still remains a highly appreciable and well enacted experiment that successfully draws your attention towards the kind of life lived in such narrow lanes of the otherwise developed metro cities of our country.

Ever been punched in the gut so hard that you feel you will die. Thats what TITLI does to you. It is hands down the best movie that have came from the Indian Film Industry in the last 30 years. What a trump for the independent movie makers. Crappy superstars like salman, amir, hrithik should have learn something from this movie.

Strong base of raw and creative story. This movie had unfold another picture of the Indian suburbs which lies in the family situated in there. If one talks about the screenplay, they have done full justice by keeping it slight gritty. The music dwells in situation, defining every bit of the movie. The movie maintains a normal pace, the storytelling not fast but holds the content in its pace. From assisting LSD and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Kanu Behl made a promising debut in the line of direction. If you are familiar with the dark, noxious underbelly of Delhi, then Titli hits you in the guts right from the first frame. Because it is about a world which co-exists right in our midst, a world so lowly that we ignore but never forget while driving back home in the still of the night. Even if you haven't been to any such place in the capital, or encountered the people who inhabit these crowded bylanes, the fact is that Titli could be about any city, and its people.

Titli (Shashank Arora) is the youngest in a family of poor car-jackers who live in the outskirts of Delhi. These bylanes are occupied by people who're oscillating between the idea of a better life and their ruined present. Titli's elder brothers, Vikram (Ranvir Shorey) and Bawla (Amit Sial) are emotionally traumatised, drifting from one day to the other, without any concrete plan for their future. It's this oppressed section of the society which is untouchable for the growing 'corporate' India. Writers Sharat Katariya and Kanu Behl don't keep you at an objective distance. They challenge you to stop ignoring the so-called social blots, and once you're sucked in, they make you believe that the injustice behind the rough exterior is systematic. It could be anything from the patriarchal mindset to the hurried urbanisation, or maybe it's a mixture of both and many more twisted theories. The language, lifestyle and aspirations of these people living beside a gutter prompt a lot of Dilliwaallaahs to deny their existence despite knowing that it's actually the 'civilised' world which is contributing to pushing them over the edge. No, Titli doesn't frighten you. It doesn't make you privy to some private conversations either. Instead, it pushes you out of slumber and makes you see the after-effects of a waywardly classic liberal economy. Kanu Behl's Titli is the most impressive film of this year so far. Its tryst with reality will keep you hooked till the end, to say the least. Titli is the latest gem from evolving Indian cinema. Don't even think of missing it.

"Titli" keeps all the clichés aside and gives you some hard-hitting cinematic experience. Kanu Behl has surely an eye for the avant-garde cinema and directs this cruel and unrepentant film.

Three brothers live their lives doing random car-jacking in Delhi's dark side with their father. They do not have any remorse doing these felonies but everyone is combating the cruelty of life. The poverty, covet to live a better life and crime are the main components of the film.

This is not your every Friday film; it induces a challenge for the viewer and shows that people are surviving in any condition. They can go to any length chasing the dream of being better and living a layman's life. However, there are plethora of complexities and struggle. If you belong to hell, all the roads will bring you back and there is no redemption at all. The resurrection and resurgence is not an easy nut to crack.

It may not be everyone's movie but niche will surely appreciate this because it has a breath of fresh air and it does not rely on pompous or larger than life characters. Every character has a motive and it has been designed carefully.

The long shots and silence describe every nuance and it does not require pages of conversation or dialogs. The acting is powerful and actors have delivered the dialect to the perfection.

We need this kind of cinema which leaves you thinking after watching it and spread the cognizance that there is a whole different life which does not belong to chiffon cinema.

Kudos.

Kanu's Titli is an insane scrutiny into the head of a protagonist born in shambles. Surrounded by a filthy immoral environment that has affected his upbringing, Titli is a complex character breathing in a rotting muck with a dream.

The direction of Titli is one of the finest kinds. Behl spends ample amount of time on mundane things, captures mire gorgeously. He has caught the broken and the shattered perfectly. He literally walks behind the protagonist with a shaky camera to execute a well prepared live action drama to perfection. His frames are slow, and fade to the next ones with a purpose. He also incorporates great backdrops to complement his work. Little unnoticed things have been brought into the vanguard. Things that we see and forget quickly have been slapped on his frames. Like a spider dangling to the movie's score, or an old tattered ceiling fan making every effort to breathe in a trampled house. He captures an entire developing city marvelously to insinuate how a lot of people are slaves to dreams like that of Titli's.

The flick begins with Titli's dream, in a parking lot of a mall. It focuses on how the lad is trying really hard to escape from the swamp he has been breathing in. Then comes the unfortunate incident that topples his life over. He finds himself at Ground Zero once again. His brethren marry him to a girl for advantage. The girl on the other hand brings another story with her. The whole plot is about pursuing his dream, tackling hell whilst doing so and his life being smacked between his dream and someone else's.

The movie also compels you to think about the choices Titli takes at odd crucial hours. It lets you dive deep into the head of an abnormal person whose life had been nothing but chaos. There are a lot of things going in the skull of Titli, character exceptionally portrayed by Shashank Arora, and you can almost read him like a book. Lalit Behl's character is that of an onlooker and a freeloader, a leech who doesn't involve himself in anything and yet piggybacks to feed himself. As Titli, eventually calls him a 'pig' an apt Some of the bits in the movie are downright outrageous. There is a lot of retching going on, which might disgust you beyond limit. When you see someone take up a hammer or a stick, you expect some badass bludgeoning, but alas this wasn't put a proper thought to, and it looks more animated than real. Such places you can almost see through their acts.

Titli touches the thrilling dark which might give you the chills at times. It is scintillating at many junctures, fills you with sympathy and a plenty of times with disgust.

Another great thing about the movie is its exceptional cast. Their acting prowess is extremely engaging. Little unaffected acts that cover 'em up with profundity are quite delightful. Everyone is engulfed in their bits and that just nails the coffin perfectly. We surely can't overlook Amit Sial's bit in the movie. Ranvir Shorey is simply outstanding too.

The editing department of the flick could have seen some more cuts, since the movie ended up being lengthy.

Bottomline: Titli isn't for everybody. If you are into dark cinema or wish to watch quality movies, go for it.