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★★★
Written and Directed by: #SaurabhArora
Starring: #PuranPanth and #SubhranshuMohanty
Short film review by: Brian Penn
Most people will do anything to avoid the gym; but like being forced to eat Brussels Sprouts as a child we do it because it’s good for us. The end product induces a state of elation but the journey is littered with half-baked excuses and broken promises. The pursuit of physical perfection doesn’t always deliver the rewards we seek and rarely feel as good as we might look. The Apt Protege is a salutary lesson that a healthy body will not necessarily guarantee a healthy mind. Paying in sweat and going for the burn are clichés we can all do without.
Arun (Subhranshu Mohanty) is a personal trainer hooked on past glories as a champion power lifter. He hears the adulation from a previous life in his head and longs for a champion he can nurture and train. He surveys a plump figure in the mirror and a body that has lost definition and gained bulk in all the wrong places. Puneet (Puran Panth) could well be the new guy on the block that Arun can mould in his former image. But does he have the application to build the body beautiful; can he focus without distractions that are only a text message away?
Arun adopts the proverbial sergeant major persona as Puneet pumps iron with sweat jumping off a furrowed brow. He punishes him with additional press ups at the first sign of concentration slipping. Their alliance is sorely tested when a reminder from the past comes back to haunt them. The film makes its point with reasonable clarity and leaves unspoken dialogue in the mind of the characters. There’s certainly enough here to complete the story with an end-to-end feel which is vital for a short feature. Now where on earth did I leave those dumb bells?
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