'Almari Ka Achaar:' A pickle, two men and a light-hearted tale of queer love | Raakesh Rawat interview

In Mumbai, two men, Prakash and Mohan, form a friendship that blossoms into love as they navigate their daily lives running a kirana store. Unlike many films that depict queer relationships, Prakash and Mohan's love story in 'Almari Ka Achar' is not burdened by societal pressures. Rather, it steers clear of clichés, making Raakesh Rawat's short Hindi film 'Almari Ka Achaar'' a delightful viewing experience.

The director told Onmanorama that he wanted to make a light-hearted film on queer relationships because most stories on the community were either too serious or dark.

The challenge was to convey the story exactly how the writer had envisioned. "I came across Vishal Nahar’s post on social media where he was looking for collaborators for his short film script. I reached out and asked him to share the script and the moment I read it, I fell in love with it. I knew right away that I wanted to direct this unusual story of love, which was laced with humour and joy," said Raakesh, who added that he keeps seeing people like Prakash and Mohan almost every day.

The pickle in the story plays a crucial role in the film, as it explores the relationship between the lead couple. "As part of the acting workshop, we asked the actors to actually make the pickle together. This exercise was crucial in helping them understand and explore the nature of the relationship their characters share. It became a pivotal moment in their preparation, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in their roles before we began filming,” said the director and cinematographer.

Raakesh noted that the story is primarily driven by the performances of the actors, compelling each one to deliver a controlled portrayal. "As I mentioned earlier, this is not a loud film; rather, we focused on expressing the characters' love for one another through minimalistic and simple expressions. The actors delivered restrained performances to enhance the story's realism," he explained.

He also revealed that the film initially had a different climax in the script, but they decided to change the ending as production began. "We had originally considered concluding the story with a tense phone call. However, we ultimately ruled that option out and opted for a more casual ending. I believe we have done justice to the story with the way it concludes now," he shared.

Raakesh expressed his belief that many filmmakers today struggle to provide a satisfactory ending to their films. "I think there are very few movies with good endings these days. We should not take our audiences for granted; they will only remember your films if you offer them a compelling climax. That was my goal," he stated.

'Almaari Ka Achar' had its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart as part of the ‘Queer Special Program’ section and also received the German Star of India award in the Short Film category.