Short Film Review Listener

- Anish Mohanty           Let us know what you think about this article

'Listener', written by Tarun Dudeja, tells the unique story of a middle-aged man who works as a 'listener' in a suburban hotel/restaurant. As listed on the menu, he charges a fairly good amount to listen to what a customer, who has sauntered into the restaurant alone, has to say. A rich businessman talking about how useless his son is, a South Mumbai woman sharing her excitement of driving from one suburb of the city to another and a young man talking about his heartbreak - all these people find an outlet in the man to vent out their supressed feelings and emotions. There is a twist in the tale that is revealed towards the end and Dudeja gives you enough hints to guess it before the big reveal happens. The twist I quite interesting but it might raise a few questions in mind. If one discusses those questions in this review, it will give away the twist, so I will not do it here.

Kumud Mishra is an actor who is, rightfully, being seen in a good number of films every year. After making a stellar film debut with 'Rockstar' in 2011, the actor has proved himself to be a valuable gift to cinema from theatre. Shashank Arora, who has been very selective in his choice of films since making his debut in 'Titli', is very good as the lovelorn man nursing a heart-break. Yusuf Hussain and Shivani Tanksale, too, deliver good performances.

'Listener' is an engaging short, replete with good performances, which compels you to think about the various things it tries to convey long after the end credits have stopped rolling.

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