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X: Past Is Present
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Main page X: Past is Present is a 2015 Indian collaborative feature film directed by
X: Past is Present
Contents a team of eleven filmmakers including Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon,
Featured content Nalan Kumarasamy, Hemant Gaba, Pratim D. Gupta, Q, Raja Sen,
Current events Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath and Suparn
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Verma.[2][3] It will feature actor-director Rajat Kapoor and Anshuman Jha
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in the lead.[4][5] X is not an anthology,[6] but one whole story with the
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eleven directors making sections of it.[7] The film has been produced by
Interaction Manish Mundra and has been announced for a nationwide release in
Help India on 20 November 2015. [8]
About Wikipedia
Community portal Contents [hide]
Recent changes 1 Plot summary
Contact page 2 Cast
3 Production
Tools
4 Release
What links here
5 Critical response
Related changes
6 References
Upload file Directed by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari
Special pages 7 External links
Anu Menon
Permanent link Hemant Gaba
Page information Nalan Kumarasamy
Wikidata item Plot summary [edit] Pratim D. Gupta
Cite this page Q
"Past is Present" (Directed by Sudhish Kamath)
Raja Sen
Print/export Rajat Kapoor Rajshree Ojha
Create a book Aditi Chengappa Sandeep Mohan
Download as PDF Sudhish Kamath
Printable version Synopsis: A filmmaker named K (Rajat Kapoor) meets a girl half his age Suparn Verma
at a film festival party. Through the course of the night she reminds him Produced by Manish Mundra
Languages of all the women in his life, from lovers to wives to actresses. Sudhish Kamath
Add links Shiladitya Bora
"17 Presents" (Directed by Hemant Gaba)
Written by Anu Menon
Anshuman Jha Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Piaa Bajpai Screenplay by Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Starring Rajat Kapoor
Synopsis: When K (Anshuman Jha) was still in school, he had a
Anshuman Jha
girlfriend named Shireen, who had showered him with gifts on his
Music by Sudeep Swaroop
birthday but he was uncomfortable in being physically intimate with her.
Cinematography Anuj Dhawan
"Oysters" (Directed by Anu Menon) Aseem Bajaj
Dinesh Krishnan
Gabriella Schmidt
Gairik Sarkar
Dev Sagoo Katyayani Mudholkar
Nabeel Qayyum Maeve O'Connell
Q
Synopsis: K (Dev Sagoo) was secretly filming a woman (Gabriella Ravi K. Chandran
Schmidt) in London who turned out to be the mistress of the producer Sandeep Mohan
(Nabeel Qayyum) he was pitching his script to. Siddhartha Nuni
Siddharth Kay
"Biryani" (Directed by Rajshree Ojha) Sidhant Chowdhry
Rajat Kapoor Viraaj Sinh Gohil

Radhika Apte Edited by A. Sreekar Prasad

Vijay Prabakaran
Synopsis: K's (Rajat Kapoor) wife Rija (Radhika Apte) tells him over a Vijay Venkatraman
dinner at home that she knows he has been having an affair with his Biplab Goswami
Gairik Sarkar
actress and she has gone ahead and aborted their baby.
Dhritiman Das
"8 to 8" (Directed by Pratim D. Gupta) Shreyas Beltangdy
Ankit Srivastava
Parno Mittra Ninaad Khanolkar
Usha Uthup Ritchik Mozumdar
Ronodeep Bose
 Production Drishyam Films
Synopsis: A young K's (Ronodeep Bose) first job was in Kolkata where company
he was allowed to stay as a paying guest in landlady Mrs Baker's (Usha Release date 20 November 2015
Uthup) room only from 8am to 8pm. Shiuli (Parno Mittra) stayed in the (India)[1]
same room from 8pm to 8am and the two fall in love through the poems Country India
they write to each other. Language English
Hindi
"Ice Maid" (Directed by Q)
Bengali
Rajat Kapoor Tamil

Rii Sen

Synopsis: K (Rajat Kapoor) has a writer's block and he spikes the drinks of his maid Basanti (Rii Sen) and himself,
resulting in a hallucinogenic trip where Chandramukhi and Paro are played by the same woman (Rii).

"Fin" (Directed by Sandeep Mohan)

Anshuman Jha
Richa Shukla

Synopsis: K (Anshuman Jha) has a flirtatious rendezvous with a girl named Sanjana (Richa Shukla) in California where
he had gone to show one of his films.

"Yaadein" (Directed by Suparn Verma)

Rajat Kapoor
Radhika Apte
Neha Mahajan

Synopsis: K (Rajat Kapoor) has nightmares about a car accident when he was driving with a pregnant woman named
Avantika (Neha Mahajan).

"Audition" (Directed by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari)

Rajat Kapoor
Bidita Bag
Pooja Ruparel

Synopsis: K (Rajat Kapoor) is caught between his mistress, the ageing actress Ayesha (Pooja Ruparel), and the new
actress he wants to cast (Bidita Bag).

"Knot" (Directed by Raja Sen)

Anshuman Jha
Huma Qureshi

Synopsis: The young K (Anshuman Jha) has a mock interview done by his lover Veena (Huma Qureshi) who really puts
him in a spot.

"Summer Holiday" (Directed by Nalan Kumarasamy)

Anshuman Jha
Swara Bhaskar
Yog Japee

Synopsis: When K (Anshuman Jha) was really young, he had gone to south India where he was seduced by Aunty
(Swara Bhaskar) so that her husband (Yog Japee) can rape him.

Cast [edit]

Rajat Kapoor as K
Anshuman Jha as K (Young)
Huma Qureshi as Veena
Swara Bhaskar as Aunty
Radhika Apte as Rija
Piaa Bajpai as Shireen
Usha Uthup as Mrs Baker
Neha Mahajan as Avantika
Rii Sen as Basanti
Aditi Chengappa as Aastha
Bidita Bag as new Actress
Gabriella Schmidt
Parno Mittra as Shiuli
Pooja Ruparel as Actress
 Richa Shukla as Sanjana
Hagupreet Singh
Yog Japee

Production [edit]

In May 2013, it was announced that eleven filmmakers from different parts of India had come together to make one
single film,[9] with the directors stressing that the film was not an anthology,[6] but one whole story with the eleven
directors making sections of it.[7] The film's basic plotline was quoted as "X- Past is Present is a filmmaker’s journey
through his past encounters with his 10 ex-girlfriends as he spends one surreal, unforgettable night at a film festival
after he meets a mysterious girl who intriguingly seems to have something to do with every woman in his life". [10] The
idea came from film critic Sudhish Kamath [7][11] when he was at The Goa Project held in March. He wanted to shoot a
film during the event itself but as he could not because of lack of funds and time he "decided to take the idea forward
and make it bigger in scope". He met Shiladitya Bora at the event, who accepted to be the film's executive producer.[12]

Kamath was also instrumental in getting the directors together. [12] The eleven directors who came on board were
Abhinav Shiv Tiwari (Oass), Anu Menon (London, Paris, New York), Hemant Gaba (Shuttlecock Boys), Pratim D.
Gupta (Paanch Adhyay), Qaushiq Mukherjee (Gandu), Raja Sen (film critic), Rajshree Ojha (Aisha), Sandeep Mohan
(Love, Wrinkle Free), Sudhish Kamath ( Good Night Good Morning), Suparn Verma (Aatma) and Thiagarajan
Kumararaja (Aaranya Kaandam) who had written individual segments and would direct them themselves. [13] The
filmmakers met in Mumbai in early May to lock their segments after six-weeks long online interactions and
discussions.[14] Due to Thiyagarajan Kumararaja's unavailability, [15] Gautham Menon agreed to direct his script. [16]
However, in November 2013 it was reported that Menon was also out of the project, although he had started shooting
his part in July in Puducherry,[17] and Nalan Kumarasamy, director of Soodhu Kavvum subsequently replaced him to
direct Kumararaja's segment.[18]

Rajat Kapoor was signed as the lead actor, with the eleven segments revolving around his character K, while twelve
actresses would play the female leads in each segment, with one segment featuring two female characters. Aditi
Chengappa played the lead in the part directed by Sudhish Kamath. [2] Suparn Verma started and finished shooting for
his track in August with Radhika Apte and Neha Mahajan being part of his part. [19] Piaa Bajpai was signed for the part
by Hemant Gaba,[20] while Raja Sen selected Huma Qureshi for his part of the film. [21] Swara Bhaskar was part of the
segment directed by Tamil director Nalan Kumaraswamy, with the actress stating that she shot for four days at
Koovathur near Chennai. [22] Anshuman Jha was cast as the younger Rajat Kapoor and is part of Raja Sen, Hemant
Gaba and Kumararaja's segments.[21]

Release [edit]

X- Past is Present premiered as the opening film of the 2014 South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF). [23] After
doing the rounds of various international film festivals, X- Past is Present released in India on 20 November 2015. [24]

Critical response [edit]

X- Past is Present opened to mixed reviews. Some critics found the structure novel, while some found it too
complicated.

Josh Hurtado of Twitch Film rated X "among the most poignant love stories... in recent years." [25]

Navamy Sudhish of The New Indian Express who reviewed the film during the India premiere at the International Film
Festival of Kerala wrote: "A rear-view narrative that brings together 11 confidently executed episodes, the film weaves
on screen a fresh cinematic syntax"[26]

Subhash K. Jha gave the film 4/5 stars stating, "an audacious experimental film".

Namrata Joshi of The Hindu gave the film 3/5 and wrote: "There is a big idea here, which gets communicated to the
viewer at times and eludes at others."[27]

Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times gave the film 3/5 and called it "a heady, abstract mix of the different ways sex and
love can be seen. The film is a philosophical take on human life, how we are mostly the sum total of the people in our
lives." She particularly raved the segments by Pratim D. Gupta and Nalan Kumaraswamy mentioning "While the
Kolkata love story is the quintessential unrequited romance where the duo doesn’t even meet and connects just through
poetry, the south Indian love story defines when and where K began running from people — his mistrust and his fear of
opening up to people all find root in this one story." [28]

Shubha Shetty of Mid-day gave the film 3/5 and called it "a fascinating amalgamation of a lot many flavours of varied
personalities."[29]

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 3/5 and wrote "a cinematic pastiche that represents as audacious a leap into
the unknown" that "lands firmly on its feet and keeps its balance." [30]

Nonika Singh of The Tribune gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote that "all 11 individually directed segments blend seamlessly"
and "reveal many layers of complex web of human relationship"[31]

Mohar Basu of The Times of India gave the film 2/5 calling it "a bizarre, underwhelming hotch-potch". She singled out
the segment by Pratim D. Gupta as the one that stands out saying, "None of the other plots quite condense the idea of
love so deeply. Though all stories are about unrequited love, this one feels the most complete one of the lot."[32]

Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express slammed the film writing that it is "a disjointed stutter, rather than a seamless
progression, its backing-and-forthing more choppy and confusing than anything else."

Film critics Raja Sen and Sudhish Kamath who are among the 11 directors did a reading of the bad reviews of the film
to celebrate the spirit of criticism.[33]

References [edit]

1. ^ X: Past is Present | Trailer | Nov 20 | Rajat Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Swara Bhaskar, Huma Qureshi - YouTube
2. ^ a b IANS 28 Aug 2013, 08.44PM IST (28 August 2013). "Aditi roots for indie films — Times Of India" .
Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
3. ^ "X Past is Present Movie Review: Overall, this movie is like a biryani prepared by 11 cooks" . Glamsham. Retrieved
20 November 2015.
4. ^ Ians — Chennai (16 May 2013). " 'X' - 1 film, 11 directors" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
5. ^ Ankur Pathak — Mumbai Mirror (10 February 2014). "LSD actor Anshuman Jha romances three women in his next
film" . Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
6. ^ a b "The story of X: 11 directors, 1 film — Rediff.com Movies" . Rediff.com. 14 May 2013 . Retrieved 6 September
2013.
a bc
7. ^ "Eleven directors join hands for a hundred minute project — Times Of India" .
Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
8. ^ " 'X' " . Drishyam Gilms. 6 November 2015 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
9. ^ Tue, 14 May 2013 Rate Story (14 May 2013). "11 directors come together" . Filmfare.com. Retrieved 6 September
2013.
10. ^ Ip Man (14 May 2013). "India's Craziest Young Talent Joins Forces For X THE FILM | Twitch" . Twitchfilm.com.
Retrieved 6 September 2013.
11. ^ "Collaboration's catching on" . Mumbai Mirror. 14 June 2013 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
a b
12. ^ "Eleven for One" . Indian Express. 27 May 2013 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
13. ^ "X: The film from Indian Cinema's XI" . Postnoon. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
14. ^ " 'X'-One film-11 Directors" . BollySpice. 17 May 2013 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
15. ^ "Gautham is the eleventh man" . Mumbai Mirror. 8 July 2013 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
16. ^ TNN 9 Jul 2013, 11.44AM IST (9 July 2013). "Gautham Menon is the eleventh man — Times Of India" .
Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
17. ^ Gautham Menon starts shooting in Pudhuchery!
18. ^ Nalan Kumarasamy to direct a segment in X the film, instead of Gautham Menon
19. ^ "Aatma director wants Q's red glasses — Times Of India" . Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved
6 September 2013.
20. ^ "Game for Experimenting : Piaa Bajpai" . The Hans India. 22 February 2013 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
a b
21. ^ "Huma Qureshi in X The Film" . The Times Of India. 30 September 2013 . Retrieved 30 September 2013.
22. ^ Constitutionally speaking - Bangalore - The Hindu
23. ^ Honoured that 'X' will open SAIFF: Sudhish Kamath | Zee News
24. ^ Check Out : ‘X: Past Is Present’ Official Trailer
25. ^ "Twitch Film" . Twitch Film . Retrieved 17 November 2014.
26. ^ "The New Indian Express" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 17 December 2014.
27. ^ "The Hindu" . The Hindu. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
28. ^ "Hindustan Times" . Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
29. ^ "Mid-day" . Mid-day. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
30. ^ "NDTV Movies" . NDTV. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
31. ^ "The Tribune" . The Tribune. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
32. ^ "The Times of India" . The Times of India. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
33. ^ "YouTube" .
 External links [edit]

X: Past Is Present on IMDb

Categories: 2015 films Indian films English-language Indian films Films shot in Chennai
Indian anthology films 2010s Hindi-language films

This page was last edited on 15 October 2019, at 01:35 (UTC).

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