The Pact review: An honest Parambrata Chattopadhyay leads this poignant tale on complex father-son ‘deal’

The Pact plot: The short film introduces Raghav (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) as he sets out to finalise a real estate deal to sell off his parents’ property in a railway colony. What starts off as yet another task to cross off from his to-do list soon turns out to be a journey to his past, seeking closure on his relationship with his father.

The Pact review: The Pact is not the title one would expect for a short film, which explores a complex father-son bond. The Pact is the deal that the five-year-old Raghav had with his strict father over an ice cream. Metaphors of The Pact are strewn across the short film, written by Apurva Asrani, which takes you down a memory lane of old stereo players and stainless steel lunch boxes.

Noted Bengali actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay is in charge of the Hindi short film, directed by Lakshmi R Iyer, and his honest performance as Raghav shoulders the short, poignant tale. There is a casual air of just finishing off stuff as Raghav drives to his childhood home, set in a nondescript railway colony in Pune.

As he asks the chirpy real estate broker to wait outside, Raghav steps into the middle-class house and right into his childhood days. But in all of 25 minutes, Parambrata had to lose this casual avatar, delve into his past, and finally find closure with a past and the memory of a father, whose unspoken love and unstated sacrifices he has begun to understand only now.

Like most sons, his mother was only the happy memory of his ‘stifling’ childhood-adolescent days, thanks to his dominating father who harped on studying and just studying. Even as The Pact explores the father-son bond, the short film also gives space to the mother, Leela, a lovely performance by Kalyanee Mulay. Vedant Sinha as the teenage Raghav and Shan Sikwani as the schoolboy Raghav are also convincing in their performances.

The makers even cast Renuka Shahane, known as the presenter of the Surabhi show from the television era, as the voice for Pallavi, Raghav’s wife. But somehow the conversations between Raghav and Pallavi, especially during the crucial third act feels off. Ramesh Nair’s performance as the father Lakshman also remains aloof (not sure if it was intentional).

Those niggles apart, director Lakshmi Iyer-helmed short film winds up its tale with the right amount of emotions and still chooses a practical ending. Like what the broker Pritam (Roshann Chauhan) says, "Only the house gets sold, the address of our memories remains the same". The dialogue feels real, and the conversations effortlessly include a smattering of Tamil as the story revolves around a Tamil family settled in Pune. Apurva Asrani, who delved into his own past to pen the touching story, keeps the proceedings relatable. We know the Raghavs and Lakshmans in our lives, and sometimes we can find them in ourselves too.

The Pact verdict: Parambrata Chattopadhyay’s honest performance leads this poignant tale of unspoken love and unstated sacrifices by a father and probably a larger generation of the earlier era.

The Pact short film is streaming on YouTube