Eeb Allay Ooo (2019)

I love it when a film presents and a charming and entertaining comedy but layers into that story smart and sharp observations and commentaries on our world and situation. This story about a poor man who finds work scaring wild monkeys away from government buildings in New Delhi tells an accessible and truly enjoyable story featuring the charming Shardul Bhardwaj, while also getting us to think about social and economic stratification that transcends just Indian culture.

First time feature director Vats captures a beautiful vision of downtrodden New Delhi that is gorgeous to watch. The world created here perfectly highlights both the story of the human world intersecting with the natural but also the ways our human structures cause fissures in our lived experience. It asks us to think about what we really want to happen as this problem presents itself.

But with all of that the film first and foremost is funny and touching. It is in many ways a crowd pleaser. As the story reaches its crescendo the film gets tougher, darker, but still holds on to some inspiration.

I love finding films like this from emerging film makers who I can add to my list of directors to watch. Vats is certainly now on that list.

Eeb Allay Ooo
Starring: Shardul Bhardwaj, Shashi Bhushan, Nutan Sinha
Writer/Director: Prateek Vats