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The subject ‘split personality disorder’ is something rather new to the film industry, especially in Kannada cinema, and that is what makes Juni a rare subject. Furthermore, it is baffling that filmmaker Vaibhav Mahadev uses his debut film as a medium to portray this complex subject. He does so by cinematically reliving the life chapters of a friend and documenting them in the film.
The story revolves around Partha (Pruthvi Ambaar). He is the owner of a small bakery café and it is at the café where he first meets Juni (Rishika Naik). Charlotte Partha as a character is first smitten by Juni’s innocent charm at first sight and later discovers that she lives in the middle of three different identities that she shifts between, namely Manasi, Chaki, and a gym instructor, while a fourth version is eventually revealed to be a child version of her self.
While all this is going on, the film carefully illuminates the founding factors of Juni’s disorder. Her trauma-stricken childhood remains the core for her multi-faceted psyche. The film goes as far as addressing and challenging all forms of abuse, sexual, physical, and psychological, and the all-too-lasting effects of such abuse on a person like Juni.
While everything is chaotic, Juni and Partha share a deeply knitted love that challenges everything about Juni’s condition. His acceptance of the woman in love with him is multifaceted, which makes us question societal norms because, as the film suggests, the condition is not dangerous.
The audience wonders: as each personality shifts affection towards Partha, are they willing to love him through the multi-faced identity that struggles to emerge?
Vaibhav, the director, through Juni, decides to take his audience on a ride blending drama, romance, and psychological thriller all into one. Through the lens of suffering from a mental illness, the film demonstrates how overpowering love can be, even when everything seems out of order.
But, if love wasn’t so powerful, the focus shifts to feeling every aspect of emotion, and that’s what the director did. During that period, we see Partha dealing with his own problems like his relationship with his business-minded parents. While surrounded by the phenomena of Juni, these familial aspects were interestingly introduced, from my perspective.
With that said, there are some instances when the logic of the film makes questionable decisions, like the one with Juni’s mother (Sudhaarani) at the hospital. This scene raises doubts concerning the reason why Juni is left all alone considering her state, which in some respects does put into question the coherence of the film. In much the same way, the ending seems to be a little bit too happy and somewhat unfinished. Sure, everything turned out right in the end. However, it begs the question of what else could have been done to achieve a more complete ending.
Those who appreciated his parts in Dia were bound to remember his stride in Dia distinguishing him as Partha in Juni. His wide range of performances paraded overstated charisma. Especially the way he deals with the state of Juni’s character and her feelings, it is obvious he had to sympathize with the other character well which he did. At the same time, Rishika Naik makes a statement in her stunning debut in the role of Juni, effortlessly switching from one aspect of her character to another. Her performance adds an entirely new dimension – understanding of a personality disorder and gives a thorough explanation of the emotional spine of the story. Drawing from her background in theater, Rishika’s performance ensured that the character of Juni is portrayed with naturalness and care.
There are so few actors in this film thus, it was still somehow complicated to understand their characters. Vinaya Prasad and Avinash played Juni’s parents, while Sudharani played Junis mother. Partha’s friend also offered good support but did not fully stand by him in his hardest moments. Everything else, the score, for instance, could have been better but went for more close-ups to better understand the context.
The cinematography is marked by intimate close-up shots that attend to the details of Juin’s condition, providing audiences with a more profound understanding of the character. However, the background score and songs leave much to be desired in terms of atmospheric impact.
Juni emerges as a decadent love story, blending moments of perfection and imperfection, and ultimately serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring power of love amidst life’s challenges. As the credits roll, the real-life Juni, masked and speaking to the audience and explaining the disorder, leaves the audience especially the director with an impression. Dwell upon the adversity that individuals suffering from dissociative mental disorders face in reality, as the film intends to do, considering the real-life inspiration behind it. The film touches upon how exactly will Juni challenge her audience’s notion of love intertwined with mental illness, and what type of discussion will it bring forth surrounding the human experience. We will have to wait for time to answer that for us. The shifting interludes of a bittersweet tale interwoven to the deranged connotation of love and how acceptance is baked in a confection.
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