Bobby Beauty Parlour
Director: Shashwat Dwivedi
Cast: Adrija Sinha, Parul Rana, Preeti Kochar, and Saksham Raj
Rating: ★★★★
Truman Capote famously described short stories as “the most difficult and disciplining form of prose writing”. I think the argument is valid because, unlike in a novel, in a short story, the writer has but a few pages to introduce the premise, hook readers, build the world, and deliver a conclusion (if any). It is a far more challenging thing to do in 20 pages than in 400. For the same reason, short films have also intrigued me far more than features. If a story can make me feel the right emotion in under half an hour, it’s a job well done. Bobby Beauty Parlour passes that test beautifully. Shashwat Dwivedi’s bittersweet ode to small-town aspirations and friendships is poignant, relatable, nostalgic, and tragic, all in the space of 20 minutes. But most importantly, it is a timely reminder of what cinema can do when left unchained.
The premise
Set in the eponymous Bobby beauty parlour in Noida, the film is the story of two teenage friends. As Manu (Parul Rana) prepares to leave the city for her engineering studies, Eelu (Adrija Sinha) is heartbroken. She is torn between being happy for her friend and feeling left alone in a city she does not want to be in. As someone who grew up not far from where the film is set, Eelu’s dread of remaining stranded in her hometown is all too real. But of course, one does not need to be born or raised in any particular part of India to relate to this. In a country that treats ‘getting out’ of your hometown as an achievement (going into the socio-economic reasons behind that would need a whole other article), not doing so can be deemed a failure, too. Bobby Beauty Parlour is a sweet, 20-minute glimpse into this final day of revelry between two friends whose friendship will probably never be the same again.