Reminder of the Calendar
By- Rahul Lahkar, INN/Bangalore, @raulasap735
The clock keeps ticking and the day keeps changing. You work for your family and their well-being.But are you ensuring their overall well-being and mental health? Are you devoting enough time with your parents to ensure that they have your company more often than possible taking good care of them and spend quality time?
Director Himjyoti Talukdar’s movie Calendar takes us through these questions with a vivid presentation of life at its simplistic best but with a heart-breaking climax. Although we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day every year but its always less what we can do for them as the clock keeps ticking and the date keeps changing. The calendar in our smart phones is not as good as the one hanging up on the wall as there’s life in every number but then the uncertainty as well.
Calendar is a 90 minute movie of an elderly couple living their post-retirement life happily and peacefully. The movie takes you through the daily household chores you grew up with, the serene and green surroundings, Dad’s visit to the market on his old scooter which refuses to provide service halfway due to its old age. And mom’s delicious delicacies and her zest to manage the house everyday marking the dates on the calendar.
Waiting for their son’s arrival on the auspicious eve of Bhogali Bihu, the movie captures the essence of festive preparation and homecoming. The bliss of the arrival, the customary harvest feast of Uruka and the traditional warmth of the bon fire. But the calendar changes bringing separation and grief only to deepen as the days progressed.
Two of the finest actors of Assamese Film Industry, Moloya Goswami and Arun Nath on the lead are fabulous with simplicity and compassion personified. Other actors have provided good support in sync with the script. The camera work by Dikhit Das is remarkable and nostalgic capturing each moment with precision with the pace of time and date on the calendar.
The movie’s message is powerful and relevant in the current scenario where people are so busy that they must take a break to reflect on how much they are able to do for their parents and ensure their overall well-being. The makers have emphasised on the fact that the calendar is not just a date sheet hung on the wall but an integral part of life particularly for senior citizens to plan every day. Be it good times or bad, the calendar reminds us that time is most powerful and to put a mark on it is to make it count.
