'Next, Please' short film review: Jim Sarbh-Shreya Dhanwanthary's film shows love & loneliness in the age of technology

Cast: Jim Sarbh, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Shardul Bhardwaj Director: Rishav Kapoor Language: Hindi A lady walks into a bar with her back facing the camera. The attendant is Jim Sarbh, who appears cool and approaches his character with charm and calmness in debutant director Rishav Kapoor’s short film Next, Please. It’s written and produced by Chaitanya Tamhane, the man who made the sensational Court back in 2014. Coming back to the lady, she’s Shreya Dhanwanthary, who wants to have a virtual date in a rooted (read shady) bar.

The film then moves to the era of the 50s and the man waiting for her is a poet, at least his attire and appearance suggest so. This man is played by Shardul Bhardwaj. They talk about dates, social media quotes, whisky, munchies, until it’s time to come back to the present. The lady is impressed in two minutes flat, but insists they go back to where they came from, maybe she’s resisting her temptations. The guy says he cannot tolerate himself after a point, let alone tolerating someone else for the rest of his life.

When the two come back to 2023, the camera pans on all the three characters that then become two and then one. When her date goes to the washroom, Kapoor zooms the camera into Dhanwanthary’s fidgety face, changing expressions in micro-seconds. She’s anxious, nervous, but also prepared he may have bailed out on her. She says she has done that too. Expectedly, she leaves with a swollen and sulking face till we see another lady entering the bar; yet again with her back facing the camera. Hence the title, Next, Please. The one thing that works in favour of the film is how the director chooses to tell the story of finding your permanent or even temporary soulmate through the lenses of the growing technology. What also work are the smooth and seamless performances of Sarbh, Dhanwanthary, and Bhardwaj. It’s a testament to their skills and tenacity that they are able to make their characters relatable in a mere span of nine minutes. The other striking quality the film contains is the camerawork. The bar Sarbh works at has a claustrophobic feel to it, and the shady bar of the 50s brims with liveliness. It’s also helped that the subject of the short film is such that even an audio commentary would be gripping. Who wouldn’t want to find true love or a memorable date night? The film’s soundtrack also features a hidden gem – an unreleased song by legendary music director Madan Mohan, which is titled ‘Kadamon Mein Tere Aaye Sanam’, which is also beautifully sung by the legendary Mohammad Rafi. After a point, even the music becomes the driving force of this short. In just 9 minutes and 32 seconds, Rishav Kapoor comments on how fascinating yet frustrating the idea of love can be, how men and women both struggle with loneliness, and no matter how far we have come in terms of technology, heartbreak will exist in every era. If one relationship fails, it’s time to move on to the next. Hence the title, Next, Please. The film premiered at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 in the ‘Large Short Films’ on November 2.