Review and critique at least one short film production

Two Dosas is a 2014 short comedy by British director Sarmad Masud. The story follows Parvan, a geeky Indian school teacher, as he recalls the events of a date he went on to his two colleagues in the staff room. The date is with a British girl called Chloe who is also a teacher at the school. Parvan had promised to take her to an authentic Indian restaurant that few know of in an effort to woo her but is surprised, and embarrassed when he finds out she knows the restaurant and also knows more about Indian culture than he does. When she makes it apparent that she is interested in “The authentic Indian experience” as she puts it, Parvan in vain to come across as more cultural than he actually is.

The prevelant use of a voice over is a very clever technique that aids in developing the main character Parvan. Unlike his two colleagues Parvan does not spectate the events of the date he is retelling, instead his non-diagetic voice-over acts as an extension of his inner thoughts throughout the date, giving us an insight into his feelings about the date as it happens.

Masud utilises mise-en sene very creatively to create physical humour. The key example of this is how the two colleagues and the sofa they are sitting on is placed into the recreation of the date as if they are spectating the events as they occurred. This has the effect of being a very funny surreal gag, as the two men utterly contrast there surroundings, but it also reminds the audience that this is a story being told and we are in a similar position to the two colleagues as they watch the events of this date unfurl.

Musud also uses the camera on a number of occasions as an opportunity to create some humour without dialogue. An example of this is when Parvan begins to tell his story and the camera is initially showing us a group of people socialising outside a pub only to pan over to him standing awkwardly on the other side of the road, alone. Another examples are the tracking pans of Parvan and Chloe walking whilst the sofa moves along at the same pace.

Audio as well is used to create humour specifically in the scene when the Bollywood song comes on the radio and as the verse comes in the volume increases as they lip sync over it.

On the surface this film is about a geeky guy going on an embarrassing date, but underneath that I believe there are themes of cultural identity and the importance of being true to yourself. The character of Viney, the Indian ex-boyfriend of Chloe, although being in only two scenes, has a lot of attention payed to him when he is on screen, thanks to some comically surreal lighting ques in a scene parodying Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2001 film Drive staring Ryan gosling. Seeing as this story is being told from the perspective of Parvan it is obvious, through this attention payed to Viney, that he is comparing himself to him, wondering if he is comparable to him in the eyes of Chloe, something that seems to be decided by how culturally connected he is (or isn’t in his case). By the end, after embarrassing himself whilst trying to prove how cultural he is, he decides that he doesn’t want to change who he is in order to come across as more Indian and thus attractive to Chloe. I am a quarter Indian myself but having grown up in Britain and lived a very typical British life I found this film hit a chord with me. Although my grandparents are from India and Yemen they live very typical British lives similar to how Parvan explains his fathers adherence to table manners. I found Parvans struggle to come across as more “Authentically Indian”  as some-what relatable.

I would definitely recommend this film for how funny it is whilst portraying such a genuine experience.