The wide, empty, desolate space where Palak sits, reading an extract from the notebook of her beloved, sets the tone for us. Palak reads and we form a picture of Abhi in our mind. A picture of a failed idealist - a writer - rich in words but defeated by the system.
When Abhi and Palak meet, we get a wider view of the place. It is not a garden or a park or a mall or a café - spaces which abound with life and color, where lovers typically meet. There are no buildings, and the trees are drying. A space which will perhaps soon be filled with high rising towers, destroying even their memories of time spent there.
Was it the plight of the protagonist that Abhi was describing in the notebook - one who is helplessly drawn towards ending his life, or is it a goodbye letter to Palak - we will never know. Will Palak be able to change his mind by her own strong will to survive - we will never find out.
What we do know from this twenty minute short film Gol made by Sushil S, is that within that limited space and time - different, even contrasting thoughts are able to find ground.
Abhi’s beliefs that life is not worth living with all the crushing poverty and oppression around are challenged by Palak’s pragmatism to survive. He is unemployed, trying to find meaning through his writing, she earns and is also ready to fuel his passion with her money. He is something of a lone communist in the neo liberal world, she represents the working women bound to the rules of the capitalist society. And yet, their romance has blossomed.
In a country where today one ideology is being whitewashed on the minds of millions of people, Abhi’s poignant questions about the system, about everything that is wrong with it, gives us hope - even as they fill him with despair. Somebody, somewhere still cares.
There are times where you wish the scenes move faster. But then, a thousand words are heard even in the abortive silence. There are moments where you want to know more about the characters background, who they are, where they met. But we also want to interpret their stories in our minds. And more. Because, as the name suggests, Gol begins and ends with the same question - unanswered - completing a circle. And in the middle, we are left to deep dive and ponder.