It is widely said, “once on the internet, always on the internet”, and while the Internet comes with its own set of drawbacks, it has also given audiences some of the beautiful memories they can cherish of their favourite celebrities, just like the recently released film The Last Tenant. Co-starring Irrfan Khan, Vidya Balan, and Annu Khandelwal, it was written and directed by Sarthak Dasgupta and co-produced by Neena Dasgupta. Having been shot in 2000, the 43-minute short film was never released as Dasgupta lost its VHS tape.
The movie was finally released on YouTube, as a tribute to Khan on his sixth death anniversary, a special gift for the late actor’s fans, after the director found the tape and restored it before sharing it on The Salt Inc YouTube channel. The movie also features Saurabh Agarwal, Sabya Saachi, Satish Kalra, and Anand Mishra in important roles. Being a huge fan of Khan and Balan’s works, we finally got around to watching the movie, so let’s dive into the good and bad aspects of it, so you can decide if it is worth watching or not.
Ratings: 3.5/5
The Last Tenant’s Plot
Following the life of Sagar (Irrfan Khan), a heartbroken violinist who is reeling from the fact that his singer girlfriend Manvi (Vidya Balan) broke up with him, plans to leave India so that he can learn music abroad. With only one month left to his departure, Sagar moves into a haunted place with the help of his composer friend. He befriends the landlord while living there, existing just drinking, smoking and completing his pending recordings.
During one of his vulnerable moments, he hears someone playing a violin and gets shocked. He rushes to the landlord and asks him about it, who goes on to tell him about the tragic death of a girl, who used to love playing the violin, a resident of the house, his niece Maria (Annu Khandelwal). And from then on starts the journey of him bonding with Maria and healing his broken heart.
The Last Tenant’s Pros and Cons
One of the biggest drawbacks of the movie was that it was too short! Getting the opportunity to watch Irrfan perform will always be a treat and a blessing. The actor proves time and again why he was an underappreciated artist we should have started cherishing a long time ago! He essayed the role of Sagar so beautifully; he embodied the loneliness Sagar felt, despite being excited to move abroad to learn music, throughout the entire 40-minute bit was exceptional.
And pairing him with Vidya was such a unique choice. For those who don’t know, The Last Tenant is the only movie where they have worked together. And not to mention, Annu, with her brief appearance in the movie, leaves a mark, making you feel that we could have had a few more minutes with the movie.
The violin bits played in the background, helping as a communication link between Sagar and Maria, just flows natural. Kudos to the director for his vision. He truly brought back the innocence and real-life touch that movies, especially Bollywood, have been missing these days. The struggles of musicians and the interaction between real-life people sync so beautifully. It made me wonder where we really started losing our way.
The Last Tenant’s Final Verdict
Definitely a must-watch. Frankly, if the movie had been released back in 2000, after rediscovering it today, fans would have dubbed it an underappreciated gem.
The movie is a treat for Irrfan Khan and Vidya Balan fans. Getting to watch the movie, from an era when they were still paving their way into the entertainment industry, juggling between television and films, makes you realise how far they have come.