Written and directed by Radha Mehta, after unexpectedly losing her hearing, a young Indian singer discovers a new sense of self through experiencing music in a transformative way. Starring: Anisha Nagarajan, Aaliya Mehta, Alyssa Diaz and Behzad Dabu.
It’s always great to see deafness explored in different ways as it’s such a huge spectrum but more often than not the media simply portrays examples of those who were born deaf. Whereas in reality hearing loss has hugely varying degrees and completely different experiences, so it’s lovely to see SŪNNA portray an example of that. Especially when it comes to those who have a passion for music before losing their hearing, leaving them at a quandary of whether they’ve lost that part of their lives, which is exactly what this short explores.
Radha Mehta creates a lovely story, one of learning to adapt, shifting your perspective and refusing to give up. However, it does feel quite simple, it’s trying to boil down a complicated topic into a handful of minutes, and it can come across as rushed or glazing over good chunks of time. Part of the reason for that is the tone of SŪNNA, it’s overtly emotional to the point of being sappy. It’s something that’s clear right from the beginning so it does hinder the film from making a bigger impact.
Especially when that style is also reflected with the visual, it’s a very softened aesthetic. There’s a highly sentimental and somewhat melancholy score atop it. Mehta’s direction favours a slow, pensive style, it’s not injecting much personality which limits the range of its emotions. The cinematography varies, it’s stronger in some scenes that others, but it can feel a little bit muted. It’s matching the tone of the rest of SŪNNA but that doesn’t always work in its favour.
However, that’s not a comment on the performances as they are heartfelt and touching. It’s really enjoyable to see the real-life mother-daughter duo of Anisha Nagarajan and Aaliya Mehta explore this emotional story. They don’t overplay their hand, they create a good balance of the dramatic foundation with a down to earth portrayal of the characters’ relationship. They bring a great note of sincerity.
SŪNNA is a lovely and sweet story but it lacks power. The style feels too intentional, you can see how much the filmmakers are trying to hit those classic emotional buttons, so it doesn’t work as strongly as it could have. The style is quiet and slow while the story is actually speeding through Lakshmi’s story. It’s a nice bit of viewing but it misses the opportunity to deliver a resounding punch.
FilmCarnage.com 