Kaushik Ghantasala in ‘How is that for a Monday?’, produced and directed by Sripal Sama.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In a tech agency in Orange County, USA, a 20-something H-1B visa-holding immigrant, Shyam Kumar (Kaushik Ghantasala) walks in with an air of delight and tells his boss that he has fastened points associated to a bug over the weekend to have a head begin to Monday. He is shocked by what he hears subsequent. Later, in disbelief, he mutters that this shouldn’t be occurring to somebody like him who scored the seventh rank in Intermediate exams! Little issues like this add the Telugu contact to the 89-minute English-Telugu American indie movie How is That for a Monday? produced and directed by Sripal Sama, who has co-written the movie with Sai Praneeth Gouravaraju.
When Nagesh Kukunoor made the English-Telugu movie Hyderabad Blues 25 years in the past, it impressed aspiring filmmakers to take the indie route. While his hometown Hyderabad and its individuals grew to become the muse for Kukunoor, Sripal Sama units his story fully within the US and reveals make a Telugu-English American indie inside a restricted funds.
How is that for a Monday? (English-Telugu)
Cast: Kaushik Ghantasala, Candido Carter, Elester Latham and Keegan Guy
Direction: Sripal Sama
Storyline: A flip of occasions on a Monday modifications the lives of an immigrant techie, a billionaire, an aged man and a gang of newbie thieves.
Music: Dawn Vincent
How is That For a Monday? has a multicultural forged that’s consultant of individuals who reside within the County, and most of the movie takes place on a Monday that modifications the life of the techie immigrant Shyam, a bunch of newbie thieves, a billionaire and an unassuming aged man within the neighbourhood.
Shyam speaks English like an H-1B visa immigrant would, with out rolling his ‘r’s the American means. He is cash-strapped, pawns some gold for funds and is quickly chided by his girlfriend (whom we solely hear on the telephone) that giving gold away on Akshaya Trithiya can invite unhealthy luck. Shyam doesn’t know that it is Akshaya Trithiya and brushes away her apprehension as superstition. However, every part that may go improper on that Monday, does.
Meanwhile, within the neighborhood, newbie thugs break into a home and are searching for an aged man, Christopher Carter (Elester Latham). We study later that he suffers from dementia. The story of Shyam and that of the aged man criss-crosses in a means that Shyam and we, the viewers, would least count on.
The areas used for this movie are a sign of its restricted funds (round ₹54 lakh), with Rahul Biruly’s digicam intently following Shyam’s journey in his automotive, his modest-looking workplace, the lone Telugu friend-colleague and the thieves. The neighbourhood views are restricted to a few homes, the streets and a pawn store. It is all minimalistic however efficient.
The movie finds its rhythm after the primary jiffy and steadily builds the stress. Shyam, initially irritated that folks name him Shayam, quickly begins to care much less. There are different issues to fret about, like having to repay a debt and police and thugs knocking at his door for various causes. The crime drama mode is intermittently punctuated with humour from the amateurish gang members and when Shyam’s pal has had sufficient of him and tales of his Intermediate rank. In one other state of affairs, a supervisor says that within the IT sector, managers solely handle conditions and have no idea repair issues.
When the temper is nicely established for a crime thriller, Sripal and Sai Praneeth nudge the story in a completely different route, opening up what looks like a small disaster into a bigger image, within the aftermath of the George Floyd incident and Black Lives Matter protests. Neither the incident nor the marketing campaign is spelt out within the movie, however its ripples are talked about with occasional statements similar to, ‘you know what is happening in the country’.
Shyam realises his issues are a lot smaller when he stumbles upon one other character and learns his story. To reveal something extra would quantity to spoiling the suspense. The movie raises a toast to multicultural identities and the necessity to have fun lesser-known legends.
The aftereffects of this movie would possibly make you learn up on Jesse Owens. Like Shyam, we may study to acknowledge the larger image as we get caught up in day-to-day hustles. Perhaps, we may also study to not snap at buyer care executives who reiterate, even when annoyingly, that they apologize for any inconvenience prompted.
Kaushik Ghantasala is spectacular as Shyam, carrying his vulnerability on his sleeve as the chances mount towards him. We see the weariness construct on him by way of the day and his efficiency is each earnest and efficient. Elester Latham as Christopher Carter, Keegan Guy because the gang’s chief, and Candido Carter because the cop Brandon Mayor are the opposite worthy additions to the forged. Dawn Vincent’s music suits the narrative like a glove, with out drawing consideration to itself.
The tonal shift from a crime thriller to a drama that discusses racism and identity isn’t seamless. But the heartwarming finish greater than makes up for it. This is a assured directorial debut from Sripal Sama and Kaushik Ghantasala will get to showcase his performing chops.
(The movie is presently exhibiting in multiplexes in a few cities in India and USA)
