Guilty

The writer-director Junayed Alavi uses the yellow font for the name of the short film-Guilty which has the connotations of cowardice, betrayal, egotism, and anxiety perfectly complementing the subject matter the movie deals with. Bidyut Newton Islam, Sayanta Dhar, Kalyan Goswami, and Anirbaan Guha help Alavi express his vision via the medium of Cinema.

The plot of Guilty revolves around a college student who finds himself guilty about an age-old crime and how it affects the student in the present.

The movie begins with a combination of long shots coupled with tracking shots mid shots, and closeup shots to showcase an intense raging scene of a junior student by two seniors. Initial shots of Guilty manage to emotionally appeal to its audience increasing their engagement with the content from the very first moments of the narrative. The storyline follows a nonlinear format to highlight key interactions between various characters to provide the much-needed depth, and realism as well as making it relatable for the viewers. The set design, colour palette, lighting, eerie/intense sound, camera angles, dialogues, costume, hair, makeup, and props are aptly configured to assist the makers deliver the messages as well as the lessons smoothly to the audience and also help the viewers to understand incorporate the learning into their lives.

In terms of performance, Sayanta Dhar plays a simple junior student at college who dates a senior girl Liza and falls in love with her and pays a very heavy price for it. Dhar with his body language, voice modulation, facial expressions, and eyes portrays the fear, sadness, hopelessness, and trauma the student has to experience due to unprecedented brutal ragging even though he did not do anything wrong.

Kalyan Goswami plays a senior male student, a friend of Jeet who helps his classmate to rag an innocent boy at college which turns out to be a bad decision for both of them. Goswami depicts the gradual changes in his character over time. The senior wants to be strict with the ragging but feels bad for the victim too. The actor’s acting skills are regularly put to the test with each subplot.

Anirbaan Guha plays the brother of the ragging victim. He is a loving and supportive kin. Guha portrays the pain, anger, and grief he experienced losing his sibling. Guha lifts the emotional scenes so effortlessly on his shoulders with the limited screen time he has and Guha’s character tends to be remembered by the audience even after the viewers have finished watching the dramatic piece.

Guilty talks about the long-term adverse effects of ragging and violence on someone’s physical as well as mental health. The short film reiterates the fact that crime does not spare anybody and everyone has to bear its consequences. The cinematic piece also advises the viewers to carefully use social media, it can make or break one’s future also affecting loved ones in the long run. The creative piece explores how college students think that alcohol, and drugs can give them the power to rag as well as abuse an innocent person for no fault of theirs.