This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
14 year old Gaurav is very close to 18-year old brother Mihir, who happens to be the basketball captain. IN fact Gaurav idolizes him for everything and dreams of following his footsteps. We see that they belong to an upper class family who are supposedly very liberal. Things suddenly change when Gaurav accidentally finds out that Mihir is gay and walks in on his brother and his partner Varun. Gaurav fails to understand what's happening and despite repeated attempts from Mihir, he doesn't talk to him. This event leads Mihir to come out to his parents, which makes his girlfriend initially upset but she comes to terms with it. Eventually when Mihir comes out to his parents, hell breaks loose and they show deep down they are as regressive as any other family would be. When Gaurav's relationships start to get strained even with his friends because of this, he confides in his best friend. The only people who understand and support Mihir are his friends. After a bit dramatic finale, Gaurav finally is able to understand that school is all about identifying yourself & getting to know yourself and everything that Mihir is doing is ok and he finally goes and hugs his brother before the bog basketball match.
The film starts off really well where we are shown the kind of relationship Gaurav and Mihir share, not just with each other; but with their parents and in fact even with their friends. They gone drives, drink occasionally and generally seem like a very liberal family. So its shocking for everyone when everyone in the family reacts so negative. Thankfully Mihir is not ashamed of who he is. He is finally just coming to terms with it. One of my favorite scene is when he tells his girlfriend on how everyone in society will come and tell him that its a phase and things will get alright. The real star of the film is Gaurav. As the younger brother who idolizes his brother, likes a girl, is a singer, guitarist and even has pain in his eyes for his brother, the actor fits in the role perfectly. The last 15 minutes seemed too dramatic and filmy and I wish there was a little more conclusion to Mihir's story. Also, a little more focus on the changing family dynamic, and its eventual outcome would have done this film a world of good. Themes of being gay, being young, being confused, and wanting support and understanding are not something that are easily handled by Indian cinema. It’s great that these issues are being taken up at least now. I am surprised it took me 5 years to watch this film. I just didn't expect it to be decent but it really surprised me and thankfully the film wasn't stretched at all.
TimeOut may not have a hard-hitting story but it does make you think. It's not a classic by any means but this is a film with a young heart and an open mind. (5.5/10)
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