TL;DR – A film that explores the subject of suicide, as two people are brought together on what could be the worst day of their lives.  

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress: if you are concerned, Lifeline Australia runs a confidential 24-hour hotline, which you can call inside Australia on 13 11 14.

Not Today Review –

Today, we look at a film that explores a very sensitive topic: suicide. It is a subject that is rarely tackled well in the media and in society. Given that this is such a difficult space to work in, how would you tackle a film where this subject is not only referenced but is central to the story? Well, that is what we are going to be looking at today.   

So, to set the scene, Aliah Rupawala (Rucha Inamdar) is training under Mamta (Vibhawari Deshpande) to be a suicide prevention counsellor. This is a profoundly difficult job not only because you are trying to intervein with people on their darkest day about engaging with actions that can’t be walked back from. But also because of the emotional toll it can take on the receptionists themselves. It is Aliah’s first day, and she has had to deal with learning a new environment, making prank calls, trying to waste their time, and more. But just as it is about to come to an end, she gets a message from Ashwin Mathur (Harsh Chhaya) that may turn her life upside-down.

Now, before we get into the review proper, I do want to make clear that I am not an expert on suicide prevention, both inside India or anywhere. So, this review will not be critiquing how well they get that side of things correct. Other than that, if you are feeling concerned about yourself or someone else, there are places to call in most countries to get help. Because the centre of the film is based around someone who is training to become a suicide prevention counsellor, it means that the movie starts with some very explicit descriptions of different types of calls that Aliah could get. Even knowing the subject matter of the film, this was a challenging opening. Though a struggle to get through, I do think it was probably a good idea, to be frank, right from the start about the subject matter that is being explored.  

At the heart of this film is one long conversation between Aliah and Ashwin, and that is such a hard thing to pull off because there is nowhere to hide for the actors. They have to give completely believable performances, which only happen over the phone. You don’t get to do your regular coverage to propel the scene forward. You need to trust your actors to be able to pull it off. While it is not perfect, I do think they make it work. Because it is just the two of them, we go deep into their lives, which are not just parts of the characters but integrated into the narrative.

Much of the film is about Aliah trying to connect with Ashwin to get him to step back from the ledge, or at the very least, to try and stall Ashwin until she can find some connection or leave to get him to do what she wants. There is a level of manipulation here that would feel wrong in just able any other situation, but here, you completely understand it. One of the stronger parts of the film was at the start, where we get these multiple layers of communication between Aliah, Ashwin, and Mamta Ma’am, with information flowing differently between the focal points of the conversation. They clearly have a view that they want to give with this narrative, and that is understandable. However, I am not sure every part of the character’s backstories worked.     

In the end, do we recommend Not Today? Look, given the subject material, I am not sure that it is something I feel qualified to do. It was also a profoundly stressful film to watch at times. I will say that the actors do a phenomenal job with what they are given, and the narrative is compelling.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Not today?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Not today
Directed by – Aditya Kripalani
Written by – Aditya Kripalani
Music by – Aditi Ramesh, Jhallih, Baba Bulleh Shah & Aditya Kripalani
Cinematography by – Aditi Sharma
Edited by – Rachita Singh
Production/Distribution Companies – Mumba Devi Motion Pictures
Starring – Rucha Inamdar, Harsh Chhaya, Aarti Desai, Vibhawari Deshpande, Rahul Gupta, Nadi Palshikar, Jaimini Pathak, Kiran Patil & Madhuri Gawali
Rating – Around an Australia: MA15+;