Featuring in the Focus South Asia section this year at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, ‘XO’, a romantic short written and directed by Samrat DasGupta, exemplifies the power of moving images.
27 Oct 2023
Featuring in the Focus South Asia section this year at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, ‘XO’, a romantic short written and directed by Samrat DasGupta, exemplifies the power of moving images.
Stories can be told in a variety of ways, but what makes the art of cinema special is its thoughtfully constructed visual engagement that pulls the audience to an immersive experience.
With just 5 short dialogue pieces in a 25-minute runtime, XO achieves cinematic storytelling through the tapestry of moving images. The story, centered around a library, leaves very little scope for dialogues.
But while the central character Rumi is a quiet recluse, her personal world of taking care of an ailing mother and the library keeps silent, the narrative speaks. The moody winter mornings in Kolkata speak. The joy of falling in love speaks. Pablo Neruda speaks. The bookshelves speak. The Ganges speaks. Acclaimed cinematographer Ranjan Palit’s frames speak. And with the music joining in, the film speaks volumes.
XO is the story of Rumi (played by Kamakshi Bhat), a poetry-loving recluse who gets drawn into a secret game of knots & crosses in an obscure corner of the library she goes every day. Over days of playful exchanges, she falls in love without knowing the lover. One day the games stop, and Rumi goes through a rollercoaster of emotions to ultimately find deeper love.
Produced by Lovechildren Films, Mumbai, XO has already garnered international appreciation as a Finalist at Korea International Short Film Festival and Official Selections at LA Shorts International Film Festival, New York Shorts International Film Festival & International Film Festival of South Asia Toronto [IFFSA Toronto]. Now with the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival showcase, XO promises to move the image further.
There is a growing clamour after years of isolation, friction, shock and awe – let’s bring love back. The world needs love, but what kind of love? Because I’ve seen people do horrible things in the name of love; “Everything’s fair in love” they say.
Perhaps we don’t need to bring love back, but re- understand what is love and raise ourselves to be worthy of it. To go back to our basics, to slow things down and enjoy instead of being engulfed in seeking insta gratifications.
With XO I just wanted to put a hole in 2023 and drop a story that takes us back to a world of innocence, love, romance, library, books & poetry. And make it such a compelling view that you would not be able to escape the feeling of this lovely world long after you’re done watching. It’s an old-world romantic film that will leave you with a new age take on love.
Watch it with your lover, even if the relationship is only in your head.
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