The first thing that made me sit up in this film was the polished and well-contrasted look of the cinematography. For its premise about a cop, the use of shadows, shades and silhouettes accentuate the suspense in all 10 minutes of tension in this drama. A Mumbai cop is on the hunt for a criminal somewhere in a dark alley. With the somber-hued colour palette of the visuals, the mood is appropriately dense. The well-paced editing also sheds enough light on where the story is going without sacrificing mystery and suspense.
But it could be a mediocre, formulaic attempt at recreating a Hollywood thriller or cop drama. Notice I do not say Bollywood despite the content about a Mumbai cop. This is largely owing to the style of the cinematography, which seems very close to commercial standards. Thankfully, there is a twist that brings us back to the less bombastic world of independent films (or even short films). And it hits a frequency close to me because it deals with a familiar issue – being a workaholic. In fact, a cheesy title to the film could be ‘Occupational hazard’.
After the initial 6-7 tense minutes, the cop who has been on the hunt finds himself in his own house. Not entirely sure why, he treads on furtively with a pistol ambushed between his palms, until he sees his wife and child in bed. They exchange incredulous looks at each other – a moment that jolted me out of my viewing stalemate, one that defined the film. He cannot stop working even in the comfort of his own home. In fact, in the light of this revelation, the film’s commonplace title ‘Encounter’ gets an ironic and pretty intelligent double entendre.
But it could be a mediocre, formulaic attempt at recreating a Hollywood thriller or cop drama. Notice I do not say Bollywood despite the content about a Mumbai cop. This is largely owing to the style of the cinematography, which seems very close to commercial standards. Thankfully, there is a twist that brings us back to the less bombastic world of independent films (or even short films). And it hits a frequency close to me because it deals with a familiar issue – being a workaholic. In fact, a cheesy title to the film could be ‘Occupational hazard’.
After the initial 6-7 tense minutes, the cop who has been on the hunt finds himself in his own house. Not entirely sure why, he treads on furtively with a pistol ambushed between his palms, until he sees his wife and child in bed. They exchange incredulous looks at each other – a moment that jolted me out of my viewing stalemate, one that defined the film. He cannot stop working even in the comfort of his own home. In fact, in the light of this revelation, the film’s commonplace title ‘Encounter’ gets an ironic and pretty intelligent double entendre.
