All We Imagine as Light
A: Drama
Dir: Payal Kapadia
Cast: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon
Rating: 4/5

It’s coincidental that I started writing this review of All We Imagine as Light while on the coastal road, which now offers us a clear glimpse of Haji Ali. Almost 12 years ago, on my first day in the city, this was the first picture I clicked, with the sun setting behind the dargah. Then it is almost befitting that I am staring at the same view, so many years later as I am writing the review of the most honest portrayal of Mumbai in a film. 

All We Imagine as Light (AWIAL) might be a story of women finding their own in a space that feels free, but before that, director Payal Kapadia weaves this as a love letter to Mumbai. The film captures the cruel and compassionate side of the city, with all the chaos of what it entails to live here. Moving between the depiction of loneliness, desire, alienation, and cultural identity, AWIAL makes you come alive in a way cinema must.