Vishay Hard

It’s been a while since we saw a pandemic-time story on screen. Sumit Patil’s Vishay Hard is set during a time that was tough on everyone. It unfolds amid the COVID-19 induced lockdown and revolves around the love story of Dolly (Parna Pethe) and Sandip (Sumit Patil). Set in an isolated village where the population is sparse, Sandip is trying his best to elope with Dolly, after her marriage is fixed to Kishor (Vipin Borate). Having lost his job in the pandemic and being in quarantine after returning from Pune, he escapes his isolation centre and breaks curfew to try and rob a house to secure money to elope.

The plot is paper thin, and the film is chaotic. It majorly features people roaming aimlessly from one point to another, which is ironic in a lockdown setting. The story seems to be overstretched in many places and characters are added to create unnecessary chaos. Growth, nuance and personality aren’t strongholds of this film’s characters.

Director Sumit, who doubles up as the film’s lead, along with Parna deliver noteworthy performances. While Sumit channels the helplessness of his character well, Parna plays a completely different character than what she has before. Nitin Kulkarni as the Police Patil makes you laugh with his impeccable comic timing. The direction is average and the music, tolerable, barring a love song. What works in the film’s favour is how the writer has managed to weave the story and highlight the misunderstandings around the pandemic that were prevalent in rural areas.

The cinematography of the film is good, and the tight editing makes the film watchable. A few twists and turns, and some comic relief help the film, but it’s still not the best one in the genre out there. If you are willing to let go of the drawbacks of Vishay Hard, it could be a decent watch. But if it’s nuance that you’re looking for, maybe this one’s not for you.