'Mehak' and 'Dry Fruits Ka Halwa': Two short and sweet films for feeling good amid these times

Amid a plethora of films on OTT platforms, tele serials and new big-budgeted films that promoted themselves to the hilt, two short and sweet films, of just 18 minutes each, were screened this Valentines’ Day on his Chilsag Pictures’ YouTube channel.

The first one, Titled Mehak starred none other than the iconic star and actor of Hindi films Dharmendra, paired up for the first time with simple beauty Zarina Wahab, who was the favourite actress of filmmaker Basu Chatterjee and won our hearts with films like Chitchor, Gharonda, My Name is Khan and many more.

The film Mehak, meaning fragrance, produced, written, scripted and directed by a young Sachin Gupta is about an evolved relationship, of two aged man and woman, a dada jee (Dharmendera) and an architect/ designer Mehak (Zarina Wahab) who fall in love but don’t say it to each other, for lack of initiation, amid family members that include Dada ji’s grown up sons, daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.

However, the granddaughter gets a whiff of it and plans to make their day special on her grandfather’s birthday by inviting Mehak over.

What makes the film unique is expression of love by the shayri that Dharmedera has penned on his own. Very few know that he is a fine Urdu shayar and often treats his audiences with his shayri these days. Mehak reciprocates in her own couplets. And the family, consisting of all age groups, give their approval breaking societal norms. The maturity of the family members, acceptance and expression of a feeling of love by an aged man and a woman, instead of living alone forever, in the absence of a partner, is dealt with a hot- knife-on-butter approach.

Director Gupta, who has films like Paranthe Wali Gali on old Delhi ethos, Pakhi and more to his credit, has given his script an ease of everything being hunky-dory to convey his message that if in love, say it, whatever is the age. He makes the family bonding powerful and financially stable to wriggle out of complications that difference of opinion and financial disability could bring in the script.

However, it’s a feel good film, with characters bonding in love and its celebration, in just 18 minutes. It leaves the viewer with that “how sweet” kind of a mood, if one is not too critical of an easy script.

Amid today’s push on hatred, Mehak brings a sweet fragrance of hope and possibilities. Dharmendera, a forever romantic is no less here too. He says long couplets with the ease of a shayar on stage. He may have aged, with words often falling off but his passion for acting and shayri is amply evident in this film. Zarina is a natural charmer. Her simplicity, training with directors like Chatterjee allows her to be effortless and winsome. Other actors including 12-year-old Naisha Khanna and Priyanka Lulla are laudable.

Dry Fuit Ka Halwa starring Shweta Tiwari and Rushad Raina, is just about short and sweet nit pickings among modern husband and wife. While the wife dreams about the husband’s warmth preparing her favourite dry fruit ka halwa for him and giving his credit card for shopping, the husband wakes her up aloud, demanding breakfast, his clothes et al, before rushing to office in the morning, in reality. The casual fight over this grows to delightful blame games, excuses, 'roothna manana' while a background song signifying that love that emerges out of such small fights adds spice to life, says the rest. Both the actors make it worth a watch with their energy levels and effortlessness.

Both the films are streaming on Chilsag Pictures’ YouTube channel.