Helmet takes on a brave theme. But the later hold back robs it of a lot of potential depth, and narrows the discussion on condoms in the film to mostly one dimension.
Language: English
Across the world, men largely take the responsibility of birth control on women. This despite the fact that while condoms and vasectomy are simple and safe, every single contraceptive and permanent sterilization option designed for women is complicated with serious potential side effects. The situation is troubling in any country, but in India, where population explosion is a serious threat, it is particularly challenging and has long been a hindrance to the national family planning programme.
In such a situation, obviously a film promoting the use of condoms is important. Writer-director Satram Ramani's Helmet - co-produced by model-turned-actor Dino Morea - is about a young man whose face has been slammed several professional doors and eventually, through a series of circumstances, finds himself Finds in condom sales business. .
The story takes place in a north Indian town called Raj Nagar, where the protagonist, Lucky (Aparshakti Khurana), falls in love with Rupali (Pranutan Behl), who supplies flower arrangements for the wedding. Lucky has no choice but to convince Rupali's father (Ashish Vidyarthi) that he is a suitable groom. A twist of fate forces him to sell condoms, a product he was previously embarrassed to ask for at his local chemist's shop.
The story is captivating to such an extent that condom becomes a money-making commodity for Lucky. Since then, however, the helmet has gotten thinner.
From Stree we know that Aparshakti Khurana can be brilliant. We know about Abhishek Banerjee from Stree and Paatal Lok. And Pranutan Behl's screen presence is as evident here as it was in his debut film Notebook. Ultimately though, great acting can only emerge from great writing, directing, and editing, and all three are heavily influenced by Helmet's script, although all three have their moments in the film.
If you've chosen to stick your neck out with a topic like condom use in a country where sex and birth control are still not openly discussed in most families, it all makes sense to Is. However, the helmet takes the initial risk but then holds itself back. Although one episode in a brothel (featuring the very impressive Anurita Jha) mentions men's reluctance to use condoms because they feel it interferes with their "fun", the overriding, overwhelming effect created by the film. The effect, Rekha emphasized throughout the story, is that the shame of men is the main issue.
Certainly, given how conservative Indian society is, it is embarrassing for the average man to go to a store and pick up a pack of condoms (it is likely social suicide for a woman to do so in an establishment where she is recognized ). In this respect, the helmet is an accurate representation of the Indian reality. Considering the taboos on a societal discourse about contraception, it is plausible that the film tackles this topic at all, educating the audience about how condoms can play a role in preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). play a role. As a pioneering moment for mainstream Hindi cinema, Helmet also acknowledges that sex workers play an important role in society. Even the fleeting reference to men seeing condoms as a hindrance to their sexual pleasure is notable for a mainstream film.
However, the helmet is careful not to stress the latter point. (Minor spoiler in this sentence) Indeed, a miracle happens when Lucky finds a solution to the social awkwardness men feel in buying condoms, again suggesting that this is the primary problem. (spoiler alert ends)
Did the team realize they could make a male-dominated audience uncomfortable by rubbing it in their faces that selfishness, apathy, and misconceptions of masculinity are the main reasons most men choose not to use vasectomy or condoms? Or did they lack the skills to figure out the intricacies involved and show us how men from an entire big city were convinced to be responsible in a sexual relationship?
Whatever the reason, this approach takes the helmet too deep and limits the discussion on condoms in the film to mostly one dimension.
The halfway spirit permeates the rest of the writing as well. The helmet title, for example, may sound like a clever play aimed at condoms, but the writers don't have the chops to pull off the word effectively.
Rupali is feisty, smart and financially independent, but like Raj in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – a film actually named in a conversation by an important character – Lucky too is not willing to marry her without Daddy's approval, but the reason for his old-world attitude is barely articulated. Her muted response, on the other hand, does not match the firebrand we meet in her introductory scene.
Rupali’s inconsistent characterization combined with intermittently dipping energy in the second half and the un-fun writing of a friend of the hero, in addition to other factors already cited, reduce Helmet to being far less than it should have been considering its unconventional topic. That friend, played by Ashish Verma, keeps mishearing what Lucky and another cohort (Abhishek Banerjee) say. To be honest, I am still not sure whether this is because he is hearing impaired or absent-minded or both. Whatever be the case, this is a running gag through Helmet that ends up being oddly bland.
It is likely that I am thoroughly spoiled by the clarity in Sara's, the recently released Malayalam film that revolved around a woman who seeks an abortion when she gets pregnant due to contraceptive failure. Hindi cinema may have come a long way from the days when pretty much every single heroine who had pre-marital sex was punished with an unwanted pregnancy and a “paap ki nishaani”, but it remains largely conservative about birth control as we saw just weeks back in Mimi. In that context, the helmet is a step forward. The careful treatment of a brave theme dilutes its impact, but what really does it in is the scattered writing on more than one front.
Helmet is streaming on ZEE5.
Rating: **
Footnote: The subtitling of Helmet is careless and sometimes inexplicable. In one scene, the subs use asterisks to mask what one might have assumed is a swear word, except that the original Hindi line spoken there does not contain any. And when a woman asks for “four packets” of condoms, the text on screen changes the number to five!
