All We Imagine As Light review: A masterpiece by Payal Kapadia with strong content and performances

When women make films about women, they will definitely have a soul. A woman filmmaker can communicate well with female actors and get the maximum out of them. Here, Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light explores the lives of three women in Mumbai, their encounters with various situations in the city and how they survive there.

Mumbai isn’t new in Indian films as it has been shot numerous times, but Payal Kapadia pans her lens to the lives of common people in the city in the background of a hospital and the nurses who work there.

The movie speaks mainly about the lives of working-class people, the backbone of any metropolitan city. The director is vocal about the problems faced by them living there.

Related: ‘All We Imagine As Light’ to release in limited theatres in Kerala

The synopsis

The film focuses on four characters; three belong to Kerala and one hails from a coastal village in Maharashtra.

Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha) are nurses working at a hospital in Mumbai. Both of them live together in a flat. Prabha is married, but her husband left for Germany soon after the marriage. Prabha, a senior nurse, is longing for her husband to return. Anu is a junior nurse who has a jovial character.

She is in love with Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon), a Malayali youngster in Mumbai.

Parvathy (Chhaya Kadam) is an employee in the hospital and plays an important role. Her home is under threat of demolition as she doesn’t have the records to prove that it’s her home even though she has been living there for 22 years.

Prabha is trying to help Parvathy get her home back but in vain. Here, Payal shows how the real estate mafia — with the help of the government — is making the downtrodden people homeless in the name of constructing residential and commercial buildings.

At the same time, Prabha receives a rice cooker which she assumes to be gifted by her estranged husband. Azeez Nedumangad, a doctor working at Prabha’s hospital proposes to her. She is in a confusing situation; she is more reserved compared to Anu’s.

Prabha’s life in Mumbai is portrayed by her commute via local trains in the city. She witnesses many people on the train to understand their lives, the film thereby gives an outlook to the audience too.

Anu who is in love with Shiaz is not as mature as Prabha. Anu and Shiaz are shown as teenage lovers in an intense relationship. Anu’s strong relationship with her boyfriend, who is a Muslim, breaks the notion of love jihad, a strong message sent by the filmmaker.

After the interval, the whole focus shifts to Ratnagiri, a coastal village in Maharashtra. This change is a total shift from the Mumbai city which is shown mostly in a dark tone. During the events in the coastal village, Prabha’s life takes a major turn. Revealing it here would be a spoiler.

The movie focuses on Prabha, Anu, and Parvathy, and their encounters with various difficult situations in their life — shot realistically. The question of how they would face these issues forms the crux of the movie.

Realistic approach

Payal Kapadia’s second directorial has explored every aspect she had written in her script. From the very first scenes where Mumbai is shown just like a motion picture to the last scene in a small restaurant in Ratnagiri, the movie is a masterpiece by Payal Kapadia.

The movie that won the Grand Prix Awards at the Cannes Film Festival is surely daring. The director hasn’t hesitated to shoot bold scenes between Anu and her boyfriend. Whatever is needed for the story has been shot and there is no compromise; this is clear while watching the movie.

In the first half, most of the scenes are set in a dark tone by cinematographer Ranabir Das. Whether it’s the hospital or the busy streets of Mumbai, the visuals certainly have an impact. In the second half, the sea also becomes a part of the movie. The visuals there are bright in some areas. The lighting at the restaurant has also come out well.

The script of the movie is another major highlight and it offers a different experience altogether. The inner feelings of Prabha and Anu, people with contrasting characters, have been carved out well. Prabha is more practical and protective of Anu, while the latter is enjoying her life with her boyfriend.

The movie ends with a note of hope and joy and happiness which is the only thing left in this world.

Related: All We Imagine As Light —Indian cinema’s beacon of hope

Performances

All We Imagine As Light has some superb performances by the lead actors. Kani Kusruti, known for doing strong roles, once again proves that she is here to stay. The portrayal of Prabha with the pain of not having her husband beside her was safe in the hands of Kani. Her scenes with Divya Prabha and Chhaya Kadam have come out well.

Divya Prabha as Anu, the young jovial nurse is definitely the career-best performance of the actor. It’s a major shift for Divya Prabha who had mostly got serious roles in Malayalam films. After Ariyippu (2021), this movie will be marked as Divya’s most important movie. Her readiness to perform bold scenes makes us understand her commitment to acting.

Chhaya Kadam is another major performer in the movie as Parvathy. Her role as a migrant worker in Mumbai is a reflection of the working class in all major cities.

Hridhu Haroon as Shiaz had a key role along with the three leading women. Hridhu had a good performance as the young lover of Anu and their love story was a genuine one.

Azeez Nedumangad, a comedy actor in Malayalam, has to be mentioned here for the way he played the role of doctor Manoj which will surely boost his career.

The final take

‘All We Imagine As Light‘ is a daring and sincere movie from Payal Kapadia that speaks about the lives of three working-class women in Mumbai. The movie is realistic to its core and is definitely a masterpiece.

(Views expressed here are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)