Film Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siyp3JYrD-M

THE PLOT:

This is a story of a boy who is going through a stage of identity crisis and is desperately trying to find the purpose of his life. Though he has a few qualities of his own, none of them are sufficiently good. Hence the boy is symbolically referred as “Jack” on a few occasions (resembling “Jack of all trades, Master of none”).

From his 3 friends, he finds out 3 totally different yet undeniable philosophies of life. Being an amateur poet, he writes a poem on this confusing state that he is going through.

This poem itself is also visually shown throughout the film, along with the conversations which led to his realizations.

The film is based on an Idea, not a story. So unlike narratives, it does not have a proper timeline, nor does it have a proper start or an end.

THE POEM:

The poem which the protagonist writes and which is used as a medium to show his feelings is called "The Purpose". It was originally written by Ojoswi Sur and finally drafted by Akasdeep Bhadra. The whole poem is given below:

The Purpose

wave after wave

they come they go

repeating over and over

the same old show

lost in the dune

a grain of sand

squeezed in the crowd

no way to expand

all with the same aim

waiting for their turn

to pour water on a fire

that was meant to burn

the water crawls slowly

through a world insane

just to add

another drop in the ocean...

do you think i am just like that?

see them

these towers of humanity

cure of a diseased race

hope of a fallen grace

you know them,dont you?

everybody does

till kingdom come

can i be?

tell me, can i?

i see myself

looking at me

looking you looking at me

drops running i see through my forehead

where?

to the ocean?just to add another drop?

no no no

take me away

what are you waiting for?

take me away

no..i can’t go

do i want to?

stop this

stop this

yes.im afraid

……………………………….

wave after wave

they come they go

and if they stop

the time runs slow

present in the dune

a grain of sand

and if not there

the absence of land

there in the crowd

and it does expand

look anywhere

and there they stand

and there they laugh

and there they cry

and they are we

and we is i

To make one exception

millions have to follow the rule first .

without the followers

there are no leaders.

If everyone’s a legend,

then who’ll remember their legacy?

It is to be noted here that the poem itself is shown in the film…sometimes with just visuals, sometimes with both the words and its corresponding visuals. The abstract scenes shown here are NOT mere imaginations or subconscious of the protagonist, but it is the POEM itself, its ideas and feelings of the author, in a visual medium.

THE GIRL:

As it can be seen, the whole poem is written in a first person perspective and it is being said to someone, someone higher than the ordinary. Who is this someone? It is the author’s manifestation of HOPE. Again, like everything else in the poem, this “someone” is also shown visually through the girl.

She acts as a silent observer of the protagonist’s ideas. Throughout the film she listens to him and quite correctly never replies in return, similar to the poem, where only the author speaks.

THE WHISPERS:

From his 3 friends, the protagonist learns about 3 different yet undeniable philosophies of life. So he feels as if they are whispering in his ears, suggesting how to find his purpose.

THE MIRROR:

After a certain personal activity, the protagonist suddenly observes his own reflection in the mirror. Since his mind is extremely clear at this point of time (because of the aforementioned activity !!!), he starts to examine his various expressions and to is horror realizes that he is not different than anybody else at all. It was as if looking at any common ordinary man randomly among the crowd.

THE WATER NOISE:

While the feeling of disturbance written in the poem was shown in the film, by showing the protagonist sitting on the bed and imagining him in the crowd and among the ordinary, a constant noise of water pouring was present at the background. It was to signify that he was looking at himself only, very much like looking at the mirror (which was when there actually was water pouring).

THE GODDESS:

The statue of the Goddess was shown while the protagonist was praying, as a last resort to realize his purpose. It can be noted that the way the Goddess was shown at first was used again later to show the girl (Hope) with her face and eyes brimming with divinity. Though she does not reply back to his prayers, but it was when the protagonist himself realizes his ultimate purpose.

The subtle connection between her and the Goddess is made to signify his realization and its utter importance.

THE SUICIDE:

It was shown towards the end that the protagonist decides to commit suicide. It should be noted that while he definitely felt frustrated and depressed, he NEVER actually tried to commit suicide. In reality he just crumpled his poem, unable to complete it. Again, the visualization of it came out as the untimely attempt of death.

Similarly, when he un-crumples the poem, the realization is visualized and after that the poem is completed.

THE FLOWER ON WALL:

A floral wall print was shown at various points in the film. At the beginning only a deep-blue flower could be seen. But as the perspective widened (beginning to see ‘the bigger picture’), lot of lighter flowers could be seen as well. This again symbolizes his realization. At the start he was trying to be the different flower, but later he found that he was missing the bigger picture of hundreds other lighter flowers which made the deeper flower look different.

THE HIDDEN CONNECTIONS:

Though there is no perfect timeline in this film, some hidden connections can be found between different scenes scattered throughout.

To mention some, there were 4 ‘Jacks’ at the protagonist’s hand while playing bridge with his friends. And he has been referring to himself as ‘Jack’ throughout his poem.

Also, the flowers in the wall could be seen at another part in the film, from where the idea of “exceptions” came to his mind.

Similarly, there are some other connections as well, considering all of which, a proper timeline of the film can be composed. But finding them is left to viewers.