Subhadra Mahajan’s debut feature, shot in black and white with non-actors and a tiny crew in the Pir Panjal mountain range in J&K, tells a tender story of heartbreak, healing, and hope in the Himalayas
It’s always cause for celebration when a quintessential arthouse film that did everything right from its inception to production tours the world of festivals, earns accolades, and finally finds a theatrical release. No matter what happens, a public exhibition in the theatre is one of the greatest joys both for the audience as well as the filmmaker. Subhadra Mahajan’s Second Chance had its world premiere at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2024 as part of the Proxima Competition.
After the premiere, the film travelled to Dharamshala for its India premiere at Dharamshala International Film Festival followed by, among others, International Film Festival of Kerala in the Indian Cinema Now section. Shot in monochrome by cinematographer Swapnil S. Sonawane, it is a gentle document of a young woman finding hope and solace from the utter brink in the mountains.
Second Chance, as Mahajan has said in different interviews, bridges two worlds — the privileged, upper-class world of the protagonist Nia (Dheera Johnson) and the lives of Bhemi and the indigenous people in the mountains, one that is as simple as it is physically and emotionally exhausting. The film gets a theatrical release in select cities on June 13.
Shot in black and white
Mahajan’s film is the sort of lightning in a bottle that Indian independent cinema throws up every now and then. With a shoestring budget and a tiny unit of twelve people excluding the actors, Mahajan and Sonawane finished filming in about 30 days in the mountains. The lead actor Dheera wore her own wardrobe and so did little eight-year-old Sunny, played by Kanav Thakur. And they are not all actors either.
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With mostly non-actors, Mahajan was successful in drawing out natural, bare-bones performances that remain unembellished and therefore honest, complementing the realist, quiet atmosphere of the film. Characters like Sunny, his grandmother Bhemi all belong to the local community in the Pir Panjal Mountain range in Himachal Pradesh.
Mahajan grew up in Himachal Pradesh and brings that familiarity to the frames here, the strict black and white colours offsetting the coldness that threatens to envelop the protagonist. She also brings with her a wealth of experience, having been a long-term associate of Pan Nalin. She’s worked with the veteran filmmaker on his shorts as well as films like Angry Indian Goddesses, Beyond the Known World and Chhello Show (Last Film Show), which was selected as India’s official entry for the 95th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category in 2023. Mahajan finds inspiration in Iranian films of Majid Majidi and Abbas Kiarostami, and the female protagonists of British filmmaker Andrea Arnold.
The trauma of illicit abortion
Nia, a dancer from Delhi, moves to her family cottage in the hills to take stock of her life after a separation that leaves her doubting herself and her future — a moment of crisis that clouds all clarity within her. The caretaker, Bhemi (Thakri Devi), her grandson Sunny (Kanav Thakur), and the hills become both a distraction and a disturbance as Nia gradually warms to her situation and surroundings.
The hills may not have eyes, but they possess restorative powers in Second Chance, offering space for solace and reflection.
Body and mind both grapple with heartbreak in this debut feature, as a woman finds companionship and meaning in the rarest and remotest of places. Nia’s intention is to escape prying eyes and her own self-doubt stemming from her pregnancy — a situation that isolates her both physically and mentally. Second Chance tackles everything head-on, from the choice to film in black and white to confronting the socially taboo subject of abortion — whether legal, unsafe, or illicit.
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Guilt and heartbreak combine to form a potent intervention into Nia’s life, as her mind bounces around the precarious nature of her condition in a placid backward society far removed from her urban habitat. A habitat that might contain the same social mores but at least could have cushioned her confrontation with trauma. But the film surprises us with its direction as Nia finds solace on the unlikeliest of shoulders.
Towards a simpler living
After an episode of debilitating physical illness, Nia recovers and goes on a hike with Bhemi. With more than three bags hanging off her, Bhemi climbs with ease, while the baggage-free Nia pants and pauses to rest. She wonders how Bhemi does it, and this transforms into a beautiful moment, as the older woman opens up and shares her secret with Nia. A single gesture of vulnerability opens the gates of recovery and wisdom for Nia, as she begins to understand a new way of surviving and an alternative way of approaching life.
The hills may not have eyes, but they possess restorative powers in Second Chance, offering space for solace and reflection. A life-altering event strikes together with heartbreak, and a woman’s elopement to the clouds finds its purpose — as much a means of escape as an attempt at reevaluation. The film’s cinematography denotes that reality is far hazier and unreachable with sparse oxygen.
The sloping ranges offer Nia something new, they are without faces with interrogation transparent in their eyes. Mahajan and Sonawane provide the film with a compassionate lens, and in that clear, limited palette, the opaque personal conflict suffocates the beauty of the surroundings. It also helps in alleviating the more horrifying physiological crisis, like travelling back in time to a simpler living. The film is light and translucent like the air in it but portends a complex, meaningful future as the title suggests.
Second Chance is currently running in theatres
