MY MELBOURNE rests on an interesting idea but fails to entice.

My Melbourne Review {1.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Onir, Arif Ali, Rima Das, Kabir Khan, Rahul Vohra

MY MELBOURNE consists of four stories exploring themes like LGBT, disability, gender and race. All four stories are inspired by true events.

1. Nandini (Directed by Onir)

The plot: Indraneel (Arka Das) is gay and lives with his boyfriend (Jackson Gallagher). Indraneel’s mother passes away in India. His father Mihir (Mouli Ganguly) arrives in Melbourne to be with his son and to conduct the final rites. Mihir had disowned Indraneel due to the latter’s sexual orientation. But in times of grief, they come closer, although tensions remain.

Nandini is the best short film of the lot. Gregory Francis and William Duan’s screenplay is neat and Onir’s execution is appropriate. The film moves at a slow pace but it works and the only piece of background score – the song ‘Nandini’ (by Madhurima Roy) – is haunting.

Arka Das plays the difficult part with aplomb. Mouli Ganguly is convincing as the father who’s conservative but trying to come to terms with the reality. Jackson Gallagher lends able support.

2. Jules (Directed by Arif Ali)
The plot: Sakshi (Arushi Sharma) is a newly married woman who has moved to Melbourne with her controlling husband. She works in the kitchen of a restaurant. A homeless woman, Jules (Kat Stewart), with an acidic tongue, sits outside her restaurant and Sakshi is traumatized by her. Soon, Sakshi’s marital problems compel her to grow closer to Jules.

Contrary to what the makers claim, Jules is not directed by Imtiaz Ali. He’s the creative director while Arif Ali is the director. The misleading claim was avoidable. Arif Ali, Shivangi Bhowmick and Monique Nair’s screenplay is engaging. However, the whole bit of Sakshi’s hubby getting angry over Sakshi’s picture with her male colleagues on social media is unconvincing. Sakshi is shown trying to tell her chef Leon (Jake Ryan) to remove the picture, albeit unsuccessfully. Instead, she could have simply untagged herself. Hence, the makers should have thought of a better idea to explain this rift between the couple. Arif Ali’s direction is fine but he rushes through the narrative in the end needlessly.

Arushi Sharma slips into her character effortlessly. Kat Stewart is damn good and delivers as per the requirement. Jake Ryan is fair.

3. Emma (Directed by Rima Das)
The plot: Emma (Ryanna Skye Lawson) is a talented deaf dancer in her early 20s with increasing doubts over her sense of self and her career as a professional dancer.

The concept by Samira Cox is promising. But Samira Cox and Monique Nair’s screenplay is dry and ambiguous. Rima Das’ direction is also weak. What could have been depicted neatly and concisely is told in a confusing manner. Hence, a section of moviegoers will not get a hang of things. A few scenes end and begin rather abruptly too.

Ryanna Skye Lawson delivers a good performance but is let down by the script, execution and editing. Others also do well.

4. Setara (Directed by Kabir Khan, Rahul Vohra)
The plot: Setara (Setara Amiri) has moved to Melbourne with her mother Latifa (Sepideh Falleh) and sister Asia (Ella Wilson) after the Taliban took over their country, Afghanistan. Setara is admitted to a reputed school and makes new friends. She is an aspiring cricketer and used to play back in her homeland. Latifa, however, makes it clear that Setara should give up on cricket and focus on studying while in Australia. However, her school coach (Brad Hodge) discovers her talent and insists that she join the school team.

Monique Nair and Nazifa Amir’s screenplay is okay and doesn’t do complete justice to the great idea at hand. Kabir Khan and Rahul Vohra’s direction is cinematic and they try their best to give the plot a big-screen appeal. He also focuses on how running away from one’s country can result in different kinds of traumas for different people. But this story is predictable. The cricket match is not filmed with the same finesse that Kabir directed in ’83 [2021].

Setara Amiri does very well and that it’s based on her own life adds to her performance. Sepideh Falleh and Ella Wilson lend able support. Brad Hodge is lovely.

My Melbourne Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, MY MELBOURNE rests on an interesting idea but fails to entice. At the box office, it’ll go largely unnoticed due to negligible buzz. However, it might find some audience once it releases on OTT due to the association of reputed filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali and Kabir Khan.