Womanhood yet again takes the central space in the memorable tribute to the daily Indian life titled “All We Imagine as Light“. The narrative drama from Payal Kapadia has been successful in capturing quite a bit of attention at the Cannes Film Festival and bringing home the prestigious Grand Prix has been no easy feat. Within a duration of an hour and 54 minutes, it is fascinating how the cinema has managed to capture years’ worth of wisdom. Though nobody is really a beginner at movies, here’s a humble attempt at decoding all the possibilities traversed and represented that you might have missed during your first watch.
As adults, it is natural for imagination to wane as other responsibilities take a centre stage in our lives. It is interesting how Kapadia navigates through urban Mumbai in “All We Imagine as Light”. Often referred to as the big apple of India and the city that never sleeps, the setting is quite reminiscent of the dark heart of “smog city” in Amruta Patil’s Kari. Here, the trouble of the common people, the ones who exist from pay check to pay check, is amplified as the rich continue to increase their assets by the minute.
Brilliantly featuring two talented Malayali actresses as leads, the film draws attention towards the joys and sorrows in the lives of these two women who share a space. Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha are both exposed to a different side of Mumbai as individuals. Yet what is this “light” they notice in “All We Imagine as Light”? Is it only the illusion the same Mumbai offers which is later mapped out to be “the city of illusion”, where “you have to believe the illusion, or you’ll go mad.”?
A third act which completes the viewing experience explores a conversation between the leads which goes something like: “Do you ever think about the future?” asks Prabha. “I feel like the future is here and I’m not prepared for it,” Anu replies. For women whose daily turn-ins and outs remain undisclosed and underrepresented, “All We Imagine as Light” does away with the delicacy and exposes the unsweetened truth, there is no respite or repose. As illusory and temporary might be the sense of relief, it is still welcome in the hallucinatory beach town. It focuses on how we as adults are as unprepared for our future as we were as mere children.
No one is handed the handbook to a comfortable life, and Kapadia’s stellar depiction makes it a little less burdening to trudge through life alone. The inclusion of three languages is a terrific attempt at bringing to unity its three acts and all of us are left a little more contemplative at the end of the day.
