Heartbreaks are an inevitable part of one’s life but dealing with them can be quite messy. The urge to find closure after a breakup can take people to great extents. Exploring these ideas of love and relationship is director Puja Banerjee’s latest short film, Conditions Apply. Starring Bandish Bandits fame Shreya Chaudhary and Mrinal Dutt, the film is a classic relationship drama which explores the topic of heartbreak and closure and sees two people try to work on their broken relationship.
The director, along with her actors had joined News18 for a candid chat where they spoke about their film and also shared with us their views on relationships and heartbreaks. The trio also left advice for people going through the same.
Excerpts from the interview:
About Conditions Apply.
Puja Banerjee: My story is about what most of us have gone through in our lives- heartbreak. It’s about trust issues, finding the one, not knowing who that one is or selecting the one from the conditioning of growing up watching films. I often tell my friends that Shah Rukh Khan is responsible for my being single. You’re looking for that perfect one and every time it doesn’t work, you keep trying. Then you finally find somebody who feels like the one, it works for a year and then things start crumbling. Then you want to do everything in your power to make it work. You’ll go to any extent to go back to that happy moment. This film is about that, about dealing with heartbreaks, self-reflection, and realizing when you point a finger at somebody, three fingers are pointing at you. It’s about realizing that love is about acceptance, it’s about understanding, and it’s about no conditions that should be applied. But we do apply conditions.
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How far would you go to make things work in your lives?
Shreya Chaudhary: I believe I would go to great lengths to make things work. I think I would go to any extent if I really love and care for somebody. I would do anything for that person, be my family, my dog a friend or a romantic partner. That’s also what I have seen growing up between my parents. They moved mountains to be with each other. That’s where I get it from. But I wouldn’t want to force myself on somebody.
Mrinal Dutt: I feel somebody like me will go to a great extent to fix things or be the bigger one to try and sort out things. But I think as you grow older, you tend to have easier people around you and you don’t have to do much with them. I’ve had long relationships, I’ve had long-distance relationships and all sorts of relationships but you learn and you only give time and effort to people you think you want.
One piece of advice you would like to give to people who are going through heartbreak.
Pooja: When you watch the film, you are going to realize that Mrinal’s character is actually very interesting. His character’s goal is to bring happiness into Nayantara’s (Shreya) life. That’s it. But in real life, you cannot seek happiness from another, you cannot find happiness outside of yourself. When we start seeking happiness from another person, we end up with expectations and disappointments, mostly because we are not making ourselves happy, we are not telling ourselves how to be happy.
In our story, at one point Mrinal’s character feels a little disappointed that no matter how hard he is trying, he is not being able to make her happy. Then they both start talking and there’s a moment of vulnerability in which both of them are sharing about their own intimate lives and their childhoods. In that conversation, Mrinal realizes the key to Nayanthara’s happiness and that’s what brings the change in the story. So the message is to find your own happiness. When you are happy, that’s what you share, and that’s what you attract.
Shreya: We were actually having this discussion one day that the biggest takebacks for us would be that don’t ever feel scared to ask for help. There’s this whole thing of seeking help for mental issues and there’s a taboo. The trailer of the film also shows this couple going to a couples therapy retreat. A lot of my friends asked whether there is anything like that in India. Don’t be scared to ask for help.
Mrinal: I think it is important to talk to people. There are times when we feel shut, we feel we don’t have access to anybody or nobody will understand. That’s the time you need to find your safe spot, a safe person. I believe you should be your safe zone, you should tell yourself the right things and help yourself. But if not, talking to a friend or talking to somebody is very important. And helping people get out of it is also very important. If you have somebody who you think is going through something, give them space to open up.
Conditions Apply can be streamed on Amazon MiniTv for free.
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