‘Two Dosas’ An Authentic, Comedic Delicacy
The question that every first date attempts to answer is ‘will there be a second?’. Two Dosas is a charming fifteen-minute reply to that query, as we are told a story about Pavan, a schoolteacher, and his first date with a colleague. In a well executed short film about a not so well-executed date, laughs are bound to be had - but director Sarmad Masud gives us much more than that. Two Dosas boasts several cinematic flavors, all of which make this film compelling to the last bite.
It is harder than one might think, captivating the interests of an audience in this framework; the stakes aren't particularly high, and in a 15 minute short, it is not an easy task to compel viewers to sympathize deeply with any character; There is no time to scaffold a backstory, or thoroughly demonstrate obstacles that the character has overcome. So how does Masud design an exposition that arrests our attention? Firstly, writers Nikesh Shukla and Sarmad Masud implement the use of voiceover. The tale is told in hindsight, our protagonist's recollection of how the evening unfolded, to his two friends at work. This is disarming, as if the film is holding our hand as we cross the street with it. By putting two characters on the couch who are missing as much information as we are, and are just as confused about the details at certain points, the script is addressed to its audience, indirectly. Moreover, the characters on the couch and even the couch itself make their way into Pavan's account. When Chloe (Eleanor Wylde) finds Pavan (Himesh Patel) waiting for her on a downtown street, so are his friends - sheepishly sitting on the same breakroom couch, but in the middle of the road. This trend continues throughout the film, and it makes for some reliable comedic relief.
Two Dosas embellishes reality in other ways, as well. Dinner isn't going so well for the two love interests here, and I can certainly relate to the way Pavan must be feeling. When you're looking for commonality with someone on a date, it can feel like you're falling through a cityscape; desperately reaching for clotheslines, flower pots or an awning to keep from splattering on the sidewalk. Finally, a Bollywood song comes on the radio inside this Indian restaurant, and they both know the words. This moment represents some hope for these two, as they sing and dance in their chairs. The date gains some momentum, and the sound design and cinematography convey this expertly. The song goes from diegetic (playing over restaurant radio) to non-diegetic, subsuming this world, now commenting on it as part of the soundtrack. Our camera moves quicker now, and we're seeing whip-pans from Chloe to Pavan, and back again.
My favorite moment in the film comes during a cutaway scene, while Pavan narrates the anxiety he felt after hearing about Chloe's ex boyfriend, who was also of Indian descent. He describes him as a 'brown Gosling' and then we cut away from the date completely, and into a foggy room where a neon light show illuminates a ruggedly handsome figment of Pavan's worry. This hypothetical ex boyfriend is even wearing the iconic scorpion jacket the Gosling's character wore in the 2011 film Drive. What a fantastic detail, and I love the concept of this entire cutaway. There was no part of the story that demanded we see who Pavan created in his head, but it is so fun to be taken this deep into his own psychology. Elements like these are undoubtedly what won the film the Best Short Comedy award at the London Short Film Festival in 2015.
There are a whole lot of other notable components in this short that I was drawn to; I thought the writing was witty and succinct, the way it should be in a comedy short. The lighting was great all the way through, particularly in the shot of our protagonist sitting against a lamppost, completely defeated. Two Dosas does so many things right, and its story is relatable in nature and in execution. Never before has a bad date been so good.