X: PAST IS PRESENT MOVIE REVIEW

'X: Past Is Present' is the collaborative effort of many directors and technicians, with some big names and film critics involved in its making. A troubled independent filmmaker is the lead protagonist and he revisits his memories of the 10 women who have been a part of his life at various stages. He has his issues with drugs and shies away from commitment, thus not able to retain any woman for an extended period of time.

 

The narrative begins to unfold from a night on the sidelines of a film festival in Chennai when K (Kishen) begins a conversation with a chirpy 23 year old woman. During the course of their chats, we are shown the various segments in K's life. Each episode kicks off at some pivotal point in their conversation and we dive back and forth. Did he finally make peace with his tormented past? 

 

The film registers very low on the entertainment quotient and eschews mainstream elements. It is a new format, has a totally non-linear narrative style and sometimes the line between real and illusion is blurred. X has some mind-bending elements which may totally alienate a section of the audience. It is an interesting attempt but is sluggish and fails to engage evenly. We need to hang in there with patience for the film to unfold. The melodrama and leisurely pace don't make it any easy for us, and the run time of just around 100 mins feels like a stretch.

 

The segment involving Swara Bhaskar is the best of the lot and as a sensual native Tamil girl, Swara scores high in the few scenes that she alights the screen. This segment provides a few lighthearted moments in an otherwise drab affair. Yog Japee plays a bold little role in this part. The episode in Calcutta stands out for its poetic handling. The dialogues bringing out the contrasts between Hollywood and Bollywood films also bring about a chuckle.

 

Many other beautiful upcoming heroines such as Radhika Apte, Huma Qureshi, Piaa Bajpai and Aditi Chengappa make their presence felt in the film as emotional, vulnerable, bold women and the cast sure is a selling point. All the actors need to be applauded for accepting to be a small part of this experiment. The film has its fair share of explicit and implied sexual content, and also cuss words thrown in for good measure to appease its elite target audience.

 

The sophisticated Rajat Kapoor is cast well as the carefree, charming filmmaker who is quite the 'ladies man' but has his problems which prevent him from being rock-solid with the women in his life. Anshuman Jha plays the younger K and his visage is revealed clearly only in the final segment. The young lad impresses with his raw demeanor and energy.

 

Though there are many creative minds who have contributed to the making of the film, there is a certain consistency in the film's technical values and it qualifies as a well-made product. Sreekar Prasad oversees the editing of the film and it must have been a jigsaw effort indeed.

 

X isn't everyone's cup of tea and is certainly not the commercial masala kind which comes out every other week. Check it out if you are game to experience something new. Looking beyond its flaws in presentation, this is an attempt worth noticing for its novel core idea.