Once Again (2018 film) explained

Once Again
Director:Kanwal Sethi
Producer:Holm Taddiken
Ajay Rai
Sanjay Gulati
Alan McAlex
Arno Krimmer
Leis Bagdach
Starring:Shefali Shah
Neeraj Kabi
Rasika Dugal
Bidita Bag
Priyanshu Painyuli
Music:Talvin Singh
Additional Music : Georg Siebert
Cinematography:Eeshit Narain
Editing:Søren B. Ebbe
Anja Siemens
Andreas Wodraschke
Studio:Neufilm
JAR Pictures
Crawling Angel Films
Ascending Films
Distributor:Netflix
Runtime:101 minutes
Language:Hindi
Country:India
Germany
Austria

Once Again is a 2018 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Kanwal Sethi.[1] Starring Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi, the film follows two middle-aged people, one a famous actor, another a restaurateur, falling in love with each other.[2] [3] Rasika Dugal, Bidita Bag and Priyanshu Painyuli appear in supporting roles.[4]

The film was originally written in German since Sethi is Indian-German; Later it was translated in English and Hindi.[5] It won the best project award in Work-in-Progress Lab at the Film Bazaar in Goa and later also other awards.[6] Shah also sang a song for the film.[7] Once Again was released on Netflix on 1 September 2018 and also had a limited theatrical release in metro cities on 8 December.[8] [9] It has been also released in Germany by Arsenalfilm and France with great reviews from the critics.[10]

Plot

Amar is an ageing film star. A famous and wealthy man, he lives alone in Mumbai, a city of 15 million souls, the city of dreams. Tara, a widow, runs a small restaurant with the help of her son, who delivers Amar's meals. Tara has never seen Amar - except on the big screen. What began by pure chance a year ago has now turned into a ritual: for hours on end they talk to each other on the phone. Until one day, when Amar sets out to meet Tara in the flesh.

Cast

Reception

The film was loved by the critics as well as by the audience and was for many weeks on the top of popular list of Netflix. Famous film critic Ajay Brahmbhatt tweeted immediately after watching the film : "From trailer I was guessing Once again must be lyrical film." After watching I will say its more than lyrical. It's a wonderful love story Bhawana Somaaya a Film critic wrote "saw a sensitive film Once Again must watch for all who are not so young and in love super performances from the lead." Sabash K. Jha wrote "Just finishes watching Once Again is like well cooked dish it acquires flavourful composure in a slow burn enriching fulfilling. Shefali and Neeraj are magnificent".[11]

Sankhayan Ghosh from Filmcompanion said that Director Kanwal Sethi has a keen eye for detail. While The Lunchbox shows us how they fall in love, how they carry out their relationship over letters slipped into the dabba, and ends with the first time they decide to meet, when Once Again begins, Amar and Tara have already found each other .[12]

Rahul Desai from The Hindu said: Two hearts in the same space, cornered into a huddle by the vacuum facing them. Much of the quiet, stream-of-consciousness film explores their hesitance to recognise these signs of their spatial dynamics (The Hindu)[13] Trisha Gupta writes in India Today; Once Again artfully depicts a middle aged couple drifting into love. Unlike the plotted safety of Ritesh Batra's film Lunchbox though, Tara and Amar meet several times, letting the charmed flame of their phone banter flicker into unscripted disappointment.[14] Dipti Kharude of The Quint reviewed: "The way the camera tenderly caresses Shefali in the film, the subtlest shifts in her character's emotions become discernible."[15]

Ipshita Mitra of The Wire observed that the film "shows the coming together of two disparate yet similar stories of separation and despair woven by two broken middle-aged people like patchwork on the fabric of survival".[16] JA Ganesh Nadar of Rediff.com wrote: "One needs a fair amount of patience to watch Once Again as it takes you through the complexities of love in the evening of the couple's lives."[17] Johnson Thomas of The Free Press Journal called it "a sensitively handled, evocatively performed adult love story that steals its romantic conceit from Lunchbox".[18]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: This Brilliant Trailer Starring Shefali Shah & Neeraj Kabi Is Giving Us Major "The Lunchbox" Feels. Magan. Srishti. ScoopWhoop. 28 August 2018. 22 May 2019.
  2. News: The semantics of Once Again. Desai. Rahul. The Hindu. 5 October 2018. 22 May 2019.
  3. News: 'I'm an incurable romantic': Shefali Shah on tackling love at all ages in 'Once Again'. Pal. Chandrima. Scroll.in. 6 September 2018. 22 May 2019.
  4. Web site: Shefali Shah & Neeraj Kabi's "Once Again" Trailer Is Proof Food Always Brings People Closer. Chakraborty. Rimi. MensXP.com. 29 August 2019. 22 May 2019.
  5. News: The work that I want to do doesn't come every day and I have come to terms with it: Shefali Shah. Chakraborty. Juhi. Hindustan Times. 31 August 2018. 22 May 2019.
  6. News: Neeraj Kabi, Shefali Shah explore old-world romance in Kanwal Sethi's 'Once Again'. The New Indian Express. 28 August 2018. 22 May 2019.
  7. News: Shefali Shah croons Jagjit Singh's nazm for her film Once Again. Dedhia. Sonil. Mid Day. 1 September 2018. 22 May 2019.
  8. Web site: Shefali Shah says 'Once Again'. The Hands India. 7 December 2018. 22 May 2019.
  9. Web site: Arsenal Filmverleih - Jetzt im Kino. arsenalfilm.de. 2019-06-09.
  10. Web site: Arsenal Filmverleih - Jetzt im Kino. arsenalfilm.de. 2019-06-09.
  11. Web site:
    1. onceagaintrailer hashtag on Twitter
    . twitter.com. en. 2019-06-09.
  12. Web site: Once Again has some nice moments, but they are too few. https://web.archive.org/web/20180927004752/https://www.filmcompanion.in/once-again-bollywood-movie-review-netflix/. dead. 27 September 2018. 2018-09-06. Film Companion. en-US. 2019-06-08.
  13. News: The semantics of Once Again. Desai. Rahul. 2018-10-05. The Hindu. 2019-06-09. en-IN. 0971-751X.
  14. Web site: India Today Magazine Issue - Dated Sep 24, 2018. www.indiatoday.in. 13 September 2018 . 2019-06-08.
  15. Web site: Review: Netflix's "Once Again" Is a Love Letter to Shefali Shah. Kharude. Dipti. The Quint. 14 September 2018. 22 May 2019.
  16. News: 'Once Again' is About Discovering and Living Life in the Cinderella Hour. Mitra. Ipshita. The Wire. 31 March 2019. 22 May 2019.
  17. Web site: Review: A film worth watching Once Again. Nadar. A Ganesh. 31 August 2018. Rediff.com. 22 May 2019.
  18. News: Once Again movie: Review, Cast, Director. The Free Press Journal. 7 September 2018. 22 May 2019.