A ballsy attempt at the dirty dark!
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.
Titli
Pros
- Outstanding direction
- Exceptional acting by the cast
- Top-notch frames that capture a developing city
Cons
- A bit lengthy
- Could have used some more editing
- Disgusting when it came to showing excessive retching, puking and blood
