<p>If an unborn child got a chance to visit the world before being born, would it choose this world as its home? Director D Satya Prakash raises this question in <em>X & Y</em>.</p><p>Set in a fantasy world, <em>X & Y</em> follows a yet-to-be-born soul’s four-day visit to Earth, its future home. A celestial goddess sends him down, tasking him with bringing his destined parents together so he can be born.</p><p>Satya Prakash plays Kreede, a carefree auto rickshaw driver who also runs an ambulance service. He lives with his elder sister and brother-in-law, who are keen to find him a bride. But due to their poor financial condition, marriage remains a distant dream for Kreede. To fulfil both Kreede’s wish to marry and the soul’s desire to be born, the soul possesses the body of a just-deceased orphaned man, played by Atharva Prakash. The rest of the film follows his efforts to find his mother-to-be and unite her with Kreede, his father-to-be.</p><p>The director tries to use humour to deliver social commentary about the world we live in, which reeks of caste discrimination and religious hatred, and where love is rare. However, much is told rather than shown. The comedy also tends to feel crass and in poor taste.</p><p><em>X & Y</em> bears some resemblance to Aamir Khan’s <em>PK</em>, in which an alien comes to Earth and witnesses the goings-on. But this film falls short of being entertaining.</p><p>While <em>X & Y</em>’s core intent is commendable, the film loses narrative grip as the director leans into preachiness while trying too hard to be entertaining.</p>
<p>If an unborn child got a chance to visit the world before being born, would it choose this world as its home? Director D Satya Prakash raises this question in <em>X & Y</em>.</p><p>Set in a fantasy world, <em>X & Y</em> follows a yet-to-be-born soul’s four-day visit to Earth, its future home. A celestial goddess sends him down, tasking him with bringing his destined parents together so he can be born.</p><p>Satya Prakash plays Kreede, a carefree auto rickshaw driver who also runs an ambulance service. He lives with his elder sister and brother-in-law, who are keen to find him a bride. But due to their poor financial condition, marriage remains a distant dream for Kreede. To fulfil both Kreede’s wish to marry and the soul’s desire to be born, the soul possesses the body of a just-deceased orphaned man, played by Atharva Prakash. The rest of the film follows his efforts to find his mother-to-be and unite her with Kreede, his father-to-be.</p><p>The director tries to use humour to deliver social commentary about the world we live in, which reeks of caste discrimination and religious hatred, and where love is rare. However, much is told rather than shown. The comedy also tends to feel crass and in poor taste.</p><p><em>X & Y</em> bears some resemblance to Aamir Khan’s <em>PK</em>, in which an alien comes to Earth and witnesses the goings-on. But this film falls short of being entertaining.</p><p>While <em>X & Y</em>’s core intent is commendable, the film loses narrative grip as the director leans into preachiness while trying too hard to be entertaining.</p>