Project Agni Review (Navarasa): An ambitious exploration of human mind which succeeds to a large extent

Karthick Naren's short has been riding high on expectations despite the fact that only two films of his have released. His penchant for climactic twists and the confidence on his film which he uninhibitedly displayed on his social media account piqued the curiousity among movie buffs. Given his liking for thrillers, the suspense-laden posters from his segment of Navarasa (which dealt with the emotion 'wonder'), featuring Arvind Swami and Prasanna, elevated the hype even further. While many viewers have chosen Project Agni as the winner from the series, there are those who allege that the plot is lifted from Inception and Dark series.        

What works in Project Agni?

The film's plot revolves around Vishnu (Arvind Swami), an extraordinary scientist sharing some of his groundbreaking discoveries on time travel to his friend Krishna (Prasanna). The manner in which Vishnu explains the connection between human evolution, subconscious mind and the ability to control the universe appear overwhelming to Krishna, and viewers can easily relate to the latter given the fact that it is close to impossible to digest the theories of the former in a short span of time. Though Karthick has used references from Nolan's Inception, the attempt to present a novel idea with sincerity deserves special mention, and this is perhaps the reason why a few consider this short as a cut above the rest. The director also subtly conveys that meaningful relationships and companionships are more valuable for human beings than pathbreaking inventions and unnecessary obsession with understanding the universe. The climactic twist is the icing on the cake.     

What doesn't work in Project Agni?

Having said that, the mind-blowing concepts introduced one after the other in a 30-minute stretch may seem indigestible to many as these are topics which require detailed explanation with convincing arguments. A deep dive into some of the conversations between Vishnu and Krishna, one can actually find logical loopholes as well.