That warm, fuzzy feeling. Stolen glances, rosy cheeks, and your heart skipping a beat. For ages, poets, novelists, and songwriters have described it in countless turns of phrases, poems, and lyrics.
When you are in love, you want to find as many ways as possible to show them how much they mean to you. Some find it easy to express in words what they really feel for them. But for some, it’s the small gestures, the comfortable silences, gazing longingly, and talking about mundane things that capture the depth of their feelings.
In director Samujjal Kashyap’s Arranged 2, 45-year-old introvert Jayanta (Ranjeev Lal Barua) struggles to express his feelings for his partner, Jhurima (Lima Das). Centered around a middle-aged couple, the short film tells a tale of old-school love, companionship, and second chances.
The first part of Arranged was dropped on YouTube on October 16, 2020. The 20-minute film traced the story of Jayanta, who struggles with his shyness to express his feelings to his beautiful wife, Jhurima. Lovestruck Jayanta seeks solace in filling the pages of his diary, writing love notes to his wife.
In the second part, which was dropped on YouTube on December 3 this year, Jayanta continues to struggle – this time with insecurity. Both parts have been successful in collecting the digital equivalent of a box-office success: views.
“You don’t need to say ‘I love you’ aloud every time to express your feelings. Love is all about connecting with that special person. It’s about caring about their likes and dislikes. Jayanta and Jhurima are in their 40s. The film is about the simplicity of love, just like how Jayanta looks at his wife, hoping that would convey his affection and deep fondness for her,” says Kashyap, an award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Kashyap further shares it was Barua who first suggested the script, written by Harsh Siddhanta, who is also the assistant director of the Arranged series.
“As I read the script, I fell in love with it. Harsh has written it so beautifully… later, we worked on it. The characters were written keeping Barua and Das in mind. The first part of the film captures how two familiar strangers make adjustments as they start to live together during a lockdown period. They have nowhere to go. They are stuck in a house and don’t have any privacy. This togetherness leads to attachment,” adds Kashyap.
Harsh plays the third member of the house – the tenant – whom Jayanta calls by his surname, Choudhury. He is the de facto narrator of his landlord’s life and love story. He is Jayanta’s wingman and acquaintance.
“In the first part, Jayanta struggles to initiate a conversation, but as they start living together, he slowly makes space for his wife to walk into his world. It was an organic transition in their relationship. They share comfortable silences. Jayanta is content looking fondly at Jhurima, just being with her without sharing a word. She, on the other hand, ensures not to make him uncomfortable. That’s love, and that’s why it resonated with the audience,” adds Kashyap.
Both parts of Arranged were shot in a span of two days each. The scenes were shot at another actor, Debajit Mazumdar’s house in Narengi, Guwahati.
“Marriages may be made in heaven, but some relationships blossom under the most trying circumstances. Jayanta and Jhurima end up faltering miserably in their very first attempt at marital engagement – the act of initiating a conversation. But as they spent time together, they understood each other’s silences and gestures. This is Jhurima’s second marriage. In times of pandemic-induced uncertainty, their relationship gave us the hope of starting again, taking chances,” shares Kashyap, a fan of Christopher Nolan and Imtiaz Ali films.
Actor Udayan Duarah makes a cameo in Arranged 2 as Aroop Chaliha – the good-looking classmate of the couple. When asked about the idea of introducing Duarah’s character, Kashyap says, “Sometimes, you need a third person to make you realize the depth of your feelings.”
The film has been presented by KC Digital Films and produced by Kashyap-Harsh. Rupam Bhuyan and Rakesh Baro have designed the background score. Gautam Mazumdar is the editor of the film.
Arranged nonchalantly preaches to celebrate endings – for they precede new beginnings. No matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again. You can always take second chances. All you need is to keep open the door of thy heart.
The article was first published on December 12, 2021.
