CHENNAI: They say true love is hard to get but once found should be handled with patience. But how does one get over the loss of true love? Words could fall short to explain the feeling but Bengaluru-based filmmaker ’s Blooms of Longing beautifully captures it. The short film has been screened at international film festivals like Liftoff Film Festival and Think Shorts Festival, Paus Premiere Festival and River Meets Mountain International Film Festival.
The film, which is currently available on YouTube, is about a homosexual couple and how they get over their breakup. “It is a 10-minute silent film. The story is about a gay man whose memories of his ex-lover haunt him,” says Barman, adding that she had approached the story in an experimental way. She particularly chose to do a silent film because, according to her, sometimes it is silence that speaks more than words. She also firmly believes that there won’t be any distraction between the actors and audience.
If you watch closely, the entire film is the love story in reverse. Barman explains that the story starts with the protagonist’s present day scenario and goes back in time. For example, in one of the scenes, the couple has had a fight and both are lying down on bed. “One person is turning to one side and the other has turned to the other side, which is usually the case with any couple when they have a fight. And in the next scene, his partner is sitting and crying in the shower and the protagonist is bleeding. That is to indicate that it was an abusive relationship,” explains Barman. Finally, the last scene shows the lead reminiscing the time when he had gone to a pub, where his ex-lover was a bartender and he had met him for the first time.
Barman, who works for a production house where she writes subtitles for movies and television shows, says the story is very personal to her. “My husband’s friend, who committed suicide during the last lockdown, was living with his partner for the last eight years. Their love story was my inspiration. Everything appeared fine. Since his partner loved Italian food, he used to grow Italian herbs in the kitchen garden,” says Barman, adding it was moving for her to come across so much love. “It’s a sort of tribute to this couple,” she says.