In many ways, Khyapa was a recap, not just to the days of old melody, and the times when we were hitting puberty, but also the times when we thought we were cool, but we were really trying to figure things out. For those who have taken a late subscription to Addatimes here's a short glimpse of the first season of the web-series.
Khyapa follows the Classical Hollywood Style of filming, a cinematic narrative which became quite popular in 1910-1960. Although that style has less influence in the present-day cinematic narrative, back in that era it had become the most powerful pervasive style of filmmaking.
The director would first give us all a sky view of the city, the camera would then tilt down towards the diegetic and non-diegetic elements of the screen, and soon, it would introduce their protagonist with a long-shot and later with a mid-close up.
Khyapa begins its introductory scene with a school and then follows Soubhagya Gorgori who is nicknamed as Khyapa. As he begins to narrate his story, he is interrupted by a friend who greets him and thereby creates a hindrance between him and his interaction with the viewers. s who crack pathetic jokes and feel entitled.
The dedication directors Ridhi Barua and Korak Murmu have contributed in bringing out the perfect frame, with the suitable sound have been more than evident in every shot of the series. However, in an attempt to reach a certain level of perfection, the makers probably failed to notice that some of the cast members weren't able to live their characters at the moment when they were expected to live it.
Khyapa is particularly dedicated to melodious madness of the bauls
The first season of Khyapa is particularly dedicated to the melodious madness of the bauls of West Bengal. In Bengal, bauls are a set of mystic singers who believe in attaining salvation by completely giving up your desire for dialectical materialism. They are not Marxists or communist, but a group of singers who believe in a set of philosophies in their musical tradition.
Various baul songs have now been remixed and used by bands of Bengal, but authentic bauls would often refer to them as the song of 'owls' instead. Although Khyapa has various flaws, it adheres to its dedication for the baul.
Despite living with toxic parents, who force him to dwell in poverty which he hunts to be stylish in the simplest ways, Khyapa manages to deal with the toxicity and seek happiness elsewhere. Much like how Matilda found friends in the library, Khyapa heavily enjoyed the silence of the forest and the cold freshness of the water in the river beside it.
Even for a short span of time nature made him forget about his stained school t-shirt and worn-out trousers. He talks to his pet pig and assumes an answer in its own little world when Khyapa observes a different expression on the animal. During this imaginary conversation with the pig, he only wonders why would humans ever use such an animal as a reference for someone evil?
There are boys school jokes in Khyapa which would only be relatable if you had the chance to go to the same school where you share the classroom with teenagers hitting puberty. However, it does not pass off molestation as a joke either.
There are heartbreaks which many may have faced when they attempted to make their first interaction with their first-ever crush. Puberty is seen through the eyes of a teenager but there's the presence of an adult correcting us to look at it as simple biology.
Overall, 'Khyapa' is an ode to the madness we all felt while falling in love, travelling in the outskirts of India or in the lovely candidness we owe to ourselves while having an intra-personal communication.
