You shouldn’t question 'What are the Odds', when everything around seems odd. Literally.

Cast- Yashaswini Dayama, Karanvir Malhotra, Abhay Deol, Monica Dogra

Director- Megha Ramaswamy

What is weird? What do we do to make sense? The movie pulls you out from your daydreaming selves-stuck at home and puts you into a Mumbai where events are not so usual. There is a girl called Vivek, the head boy, Ashwin with his ‘perfect face’, an artistic-scientist girlfriend, an idle man showing off his business, a bunch of oldies in striking red jumpsuits called the Spas, a goldfish that speaks, and a whole lot of absurd things happening around. Megha Ramaswamy’s film features two teenagers, a conventional rebel and the other just accidentally landed into the situation. Their adventures are odd, events occur with no future certainty.

The first few minutes are not making sense but didn’t Abhay Deol’s introduction warn us of the absurdity; of the weird people and their weird friends. All the occurrences within the frame seem to be in an infinity loop— for instance the man with a mosquito killing racket, the man at the registration desk. Vivek is a rebel kid, finding her way through life and today she decides to skip the exam, pulling in the head boy into her adventures, accidentally. They seem to go unnoticed, running about the school, shouting, disturbing the exam period (emphasizing their distancing from the real world, seeming to be invisible) Next stop, they are at a Bar Bar (seemingly drunk-crazy bar) wanting some booze. From that to sitting-on-the rooftop-mid-afternoon -drinking booze, things are to be dreamy, illusion and out of the blue. Along the side characters, there is Vivek’s Alzheimer stricken grandma, waiting for the snowfall for 12 years- in Mumbai, well, what are the odds? There is a fading portrait of Oscar Wilde, a talking goldfish called Bunty (I think is the most witty, metaphorical character of the film), making us feel the weirdness, there are normal characters of Val (Abhay Deol), taking us back to the indoor concert scenes from the western films and the stylist Monica Dogra (“ensuring everyone is in style”). Further, the events lead to Bunty’s burial, where there are a few real moments (away from the illusions), their fragmented, meaningful conversation about ‘mommy and daddy issues’, Vivek’s rebellious behavior is questioned, her sense of existential crisis and the what makes her behave the way she does, and the old-school question of “what are the odds that a boy like you would what to hang out with a girl like me?” lures around. The whimsical aspect of ‘freedom’ being questioned. There are a few metaphors for the viewers to catch and analyze. Here, actions speak louder than words.

Yes, she is a talented kid, a singer-songwriter, exploring her adolescent years, fighting with her inner self, making peace with the absurdities of the world, questioning the conventional—but things remain stagnant at the shallow end, the movie doesn’t allow us to take a journey with the characters, allowing us to grow with them.

The design and cinematography are what makes the film pop. From the pastel walls, red jumpsuits and colors flying to the symmetric, landscape wide angel shots that stitch the film together. Perhaps it is a string of events stitched together.

Abhay Deol’s charming looks and the cool musician character saves the day. Yashiswini Dayama is known to play the rebel roles (from Delhi Crime to Made in Heaven), she has made a point to keep her points forward—presenting the young adults of her generation. Karanvir Malhotra (last seen in Selection Day and The Forgotten Army) has the calm in his eyes, his character is confused and is going with the flow, he too is dilutional to fit into Vivek’s world for a day.

The film can be said to be ahead of its time, a coming-of age movie, where the aesthetics hit the nail on its head but the It questions gender, names and imagination. It shows an introspective teenager lost in her world, or perhaps an aesthetic world that ticks all the boxes. The last few moments appeal to the viewers to believe in the magic, the magic that surrounds us and is inside of us. For, this world is weird and its inhabitants are weirder.

Images from Google