Ti Ani Itar

Adapted from Manjula Padmanabhan’s play 'Lights Out', Govind Nihalani’s comeback vehicle 'Ti Aani Itar' is based on a real incident that happened in Mumbai at one time. It delves into the psyche of different elements of the society and the mentality of staying silent and oblivious to injustice happening around, till the time it doesn’t concern them directly.

Naina (Kulkarni) has just come out with her first solo ghazal album and, along with husband Aniruddh (Bhave), has invited some close ones for a small celebration. Though she is disturbed by the screams coming from the neighbouring building every night, she tries keeping her mind on the celebration. But when the screams are heard that night too, everyone gathered is concerned and frightened. While the journalist Janaki (Subhash) and Naina’s brother Mohan (Darvekar) want to inform the police, the others, including Bhaskar (Pradhan) and his wife Madhavi (Marathe), feel otherwise. Ultimately, they call the police after gunshots are fired.

As a story, 'Ti Aani Itar' is fantastic. It not only brings our ignorance as a society in focus but also brushes upon the feeble-minded outlook towards grave situations and the lack of desire to act upon it. Each actor, including Ganesh Yadav who plays the cop and Suman Patel, the house help, fits the character profiles and ace the performances.

However, the film suffers in terms of treatment. Perhaps in a bid to stick to the original concept, Nihalani treats this one as a play. That not only restricts the scope of the filmmaker but also the viewer. You feel like being trapped in a loop that circles around the house and despite mentioning the screams from the other building, give us just a glimpse of it once throughout the film.

'Ti Aani Itar' is an unconventional film with a strong message. But it needs to be watched from a different perspective to be understood and not like a regular film.