Roopanthara

In a dystopian future, a nomad has only stories to narrate so that he can save himself from armed hunters. When he is about to be executed, he convinces them to listen to his stories and narrates four of them. One involving a beggar woman accused of kidnapping a child. A boy who has survived child abuse but is living with the scars, turning him into an anti social element. An old couple where the husband is trying to fulfill his wife's wish to visit Bengaluru city. Lastly, a local goon picking up a fight with an IT employee. What happens in each of this stories and to the storytelling nomad, with the gist of these stories being one's transformation in the ever changing world.

Mithilesh Edavalath's direction is well intentioned and driven by philosophy of basic human nature. With each phase of our lives, there comes the moment of transformation and it's upto the individual to recognize his/her moment. The anthology has it's highs and lows. The best story being that of the old couple and I could instantly connect with these characters. I might not get on board with it's ending but the emotions clicked. Similarly, the segment with the beggar woman and the masterstroke was narrating it through the new constable's pov. It made me root for the character and the ending was satisfactory. The other two segments involving the boy and the conflict between two men was half backed and rushed. I did get the point but with the time constraint, these two stories don't really drive home the point as intended. Setting aside the preachy narrative, two of the stories individually worked big time for me.