Summary
This is certainly not a stronger entry than the first short film, but it has a charm that keeps the story interesting.
This review of Navarasa season 1, episode 2 for the short film Summer of 92: Hasya contains spoilers. We discuss the ending.
The second short film of Navarasa season 1, Summer of 92: Hasya, follows actor Mr. Veluswamy and the starting title screens explain that this is based on a true story from the events of the life of Mr. Innocent Vareed Thekkethala (Actor & Former M.P.). If you have a vested interest in Indian politics, then this will surely be intriguing.
The theme of Summer of 92: Hasya is laughter; Mr. Veluswamy visits his alma mater to speak to the students. Due to his success and fame, the school has gained popularity as well. The short film brings a sequence of funny stories as Mr. Veluswamy explains to his students how he survived growing up as a failing student and his mischievous ways. Summer of 92: Hasya is not designed to be a serious reimagining of the actor’s life, but more a tell-tale of how we should try to live.
The second short film gives a slight angle to modern-day education; traditionally, we have always believed that good education means a good career. But in an ever-changing world, it’s becoming evident that skills, experience, and working hard are nothing to do with how much you paid attention to algebra. Navarasa kindly pokes fun at those who have had an antic-filled, clumsy life and gives a full-circle view. Reckless mistakes are not the “be-all and end-all” to our fate, and Summer of 92: Hasya demonstrates that.
This is certainly not a stronger entry than the first short film, but it has a charm that keeps the story interesting.
Navarasa season 1, episode 2 – Summer of 92: Hasya short film ending
Through the short film, Mr. Veluswamy tells the students the calamities when he was at their school. The actor used to play a range of pranks that use to rile the teachers and get him in trouble. However, as the film wears on, it’s clear that Mr. Veluswamy feels a weight of guilt, as one of the teachers on stage, Madam Lakshmi, was wronged by him after a stupid prank.
In a flashback, Madam Lakshmi was destined to be part of an arranged marriage, and both families were brought together. As part of this family ceremony, there was an expectation that a family dog would be present. However, Mr. Veluswamy stole the dog with his friends. At one point, they nearly drown the dog in a stinky swamp full of mud (and what seems to be animal feces). However, the dog survives and runs away from the swamp, and Mr. Veluswamy cannot catch it.
At the family gathering, all is well, but then the dog arrives, drenched in the swamp…and what do dogs do? Yes, it decides to shake all the swamp mud off itself, and it goes everywhere — all over both families, hitting the fans and every ornament in the room.
Mr. Veluswamy learns that Madam Lakshmi is single and lonely in the present day, and he clearly feels he is to blame (we do not know if this is his fault). On stage at school, he apologizes to her for how he wronged her that day and asks for forgiveness. Madam Lakshmi seems unbothered, highlighting how they are happy with his success despite how many times he failed school. She whispers to him how her house still stinks after what the dog did.
Overall, the lesson of Summer of 92: Hasya is not to take life too seriously. Laugh, love, and live.
What did you think of Navarasa season 1, episode 2 – short film Summer of 92: Hasya? Comment below.
