Rashami Desai’s digital debut Tamas is well-intentioned but badly executed, watch it here

Rashami Desai’s first short film comes with a beautiful message but one that rides on an ill-executed screenplay.

TV actor Rashami Desai makes her short film debut with Tamas but the only thing to watch out for in this 20-minute-long film is Rashami’s presence that lasts merely three minutes. The film, which also stars TV actor Adhvik Mahajan, seems to be trying too hard to tick all the boxes for a film with a social message.

Rashami Desai as Sania, her character from Tamas.

Tamas opens with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s voice as he announced the nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. The short film traces the story of a man, living alone, and how he deals with the challenges posed by the lockdown. How his neighbour extends a helping hand and he solves almost all his problems with her aid forms the crux of Tamas.

Tamas is directed by Adhvik who is also the writer, producer and director of photography for the film.

The makers have tried to weave in quite a few social messages - from the need for humanity and compassion to the futility of communal prejudices, it tries to address them all. However, the main actor and the screenplay of Tamas lets it down.

The lead character Rishi, essayed by Adhvik, has parents stuck in Aligarh and a girlfriend with whom he has an ugly fight before breaking his phone. However, when his neighbour offers help and they figure the neighbour can make calls on speaker phone and he can talk, he does not call his parents or his girlfriend. He makes one call to his maid and another one to a friend in order to get a replacement phone for himself.

Once the night ends and Rishi wakes up the next morning, his life’s priorities change for no apparent reason and he is seen not even once remembering the parents or the girlfriend. The film simply focuses on showcasing how beautiful a human the neighbour is. In its attempt to highlight the importance of humanity and communal harmony, the narrative and plot are lost.

Sharing a picture from her film, Rashami quoted her own dialogue from the film wrote on Instagram, “Lockdown insaano per tha, pyar aur insaniyat per nahi.” - Saina I hope our message to you was and is clear.. #BTS #Tamas #ShortFilm (Link in Bio) #ItsAllMagical #RashamiDesai Thank you @adhvik_official loved being a part of such beautiful social message.”

Rashami looks apt as the kind-hearted neighbour whom we see only in the last few minutes. She also does a good job of making the film slightly believable and less dramatic, even if it is only in the end.

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