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“It’s the year 2035 and it has been 15 years since lockdown started.”
“Wait, what? I’ve got to watch this!” I told myself even as my body was pleading with me for the umpteenth time to slip under the sheets and get some shut-eye.
Like every other insomniac, I told myself, “One more video?” and that will be it. When Yours Shamefully 2.5 popped up on YouTube, I prepared myself for another long night and was ready to flush sleep down the drain.
Much like its two previous versions, Yours Shamefully 2.5, is set in a dystopian environment, like Black Mirror. The 27-minute odd film gives you an honest (and Scary) portrayal of what would happen if you violate lockdown rules. You have two options, choose wisely was the inner message.
The story opens in the year 2035. This year in Tamil Nadu sees stringent rules in place as the lockdown has been around for more than 15 years due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
Young lovebirds Michael (Vignesh Karthick) and Sharanya (Soundarya Nandakumar) are planning to get hitched via a video call and do so in a jiffy as they ‘click’ their way into registering their marriages.
What follows is a series of events on whether the lockdown ends and they get to meet. There is also a parallel track that talks about a mentally-challenged kid being raised by her mother single-handedly while the father waits on the other side of the screen for the lockdown to end.
Soundarya and Karthick have joined hands together for the third time in the Yours Shamefully series.
While part one spoke about the future of women in the country, part two, released in 2019, was inspired by the real-life story of Sarvjeet Singh, the Delhi man, who was wrongly accused by a lady Jasleen Kaur of having molested her. Having clocked lakhs of views till date, the short was highly spoken of by actors, directors and many Tamil film enthusiasts.
The current film, though it has touched upon a controversial topic, pulls off a Contagion-like feel.
It is not without its drawbacks. Drama and sentiment slosh around in abundance, but thankfully the story keeps you engaged. It drags the rug from underneath your feet when you least expect it to.
Although it gets a little cliched in the end, the filmmakers make sure Yours Shamefully 2.5 makes an impact.
It is to be noted that all the actors and filmmakers have filmed the short in their houses with their smartphones due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
Source: The New Indian Express