Pawssible review: Director Akshay Keecheri’s survival drama short begs a serious question

3/5

Story: Hachi and Laaby are two Golden Retriever puppies that are a gift to a father from his daughter who lives away from home. The father who is annoyed having to take care of the puppies leaves for work one day without providing food or water for the pups. What will happen to the little doggies, alone in a big flat? 

Review: A good survival drama always finds a way to keep the audience rooted to the screen. They often keep the audience on the edge and will have them rooting for the characters to survive. The odds are higher in Akshay Keecheri’s short film Pawssible. This adventure survival drama is led by two adorable Golden Retriever puppies. If you thought you would get anxious watching a survival drama, you are not ready for this.

The movie starts off with one Mr. Kurien receiving two puppies as a gift from his daughter who lives away from home. Kurien, who is a busy man, is soon fed up and annoyed by taking care of the pups. The constant feeding, peeing, pooping, biting and damage that comes with raising a puppy does not sit well with Kurien. He even tells his daughter that he is pretty fed up with the gift and just might give them away. 

One fine day, Kurien has to rush to his work and has to leave home. He leaves in a hurry and has no time to take the needs of the little ones into account. The two cuties are left alone in his big flat. They soon find themselves exploring the flat and ending up in tough situations. But as Kurien does not return for days, they are left with no water or food. Things go from bad to worse, as one of them is trapped in the balcony, having closed the glass slide door behind them.

The short film does a great job at capturing the events and the emotions of the doglings. The director also takes steps to ensure that the movie is perceived from their perspective. None of the human characters are really ever shown throughout its 25 minute runtime. We stick to the human characters only below knee level (There are just two of them). Adding to this, some of the shots are POVs, which are a nice added touch. With the lack of human characters and never really going to higher angles, the short film finds a way to make the audience forget that it was a film in the first place. We are engaged to the maximum. 

The area where the events take place is a flat and its different rooms. As the dog gets stuck in the balcony, the shots of the pup used will have you seriously wanting them to be okay, and that nothing bad happens to them. The shots of the various insects and creepy crawlies also gives an idea of the solitude that has captured the innocent four legged creatures. 

The music by Mujeeb Majeed sits well with the situations. It makes you fall in love with the pups almost instantly as they fool around in the house and also elevates the tension and fear of the viewer. Director of Photography Nikhil Surendran and Editor Ramees M B have also done a great job. The song by Vineeth Sreenivasan is also well placed in the movie.

The short film also begs a serious question. In a world where we see animals and pets being gifted as surprises to one another, what is stopping things like this happening in real life? Any person would find it difficult taking care of their “gift” and situations such as these just might be happening as we speak. It is imperative that we understand that getting a pet has to be a well thought after and calculated decision and you understand fully that you look after them just like you would with a human child.

Verdict: With a runtime of just 25 minutes, this movie will have you falling in love with the puppies, smiling, tearing up and being engaged all at the same time. The music and the cinematography also gives Pawssible an edge.