You might not be interested in the frustration, loneliness and anger felt by a rebel, but you can still empathise. You might not have stood up against authoritarian agencies, but you can always stand by those who do. You might not have dared to break the shackles of a comfortable middle class existence, but you can start off on a journey that promises to take you away from it. After all, the idea of being a rebel is unbelievably romantic. Director Agneya Singh is ambitious like most debutants. He wants to present his side on so many things: Drugs, politics, literature, alcohol, love, sex, freedom and revolution. He mostly speaks through Shah’s Fig, a guy with a mop of hair and a love for poetry. He loves to quote authors and can differentiate between Vikram Seth, Rabindranath Tagore and Jimmy Hendrix. It’s been a while we saw a well read Indian youth on screen. M Cream is a raw voice of an energetic director. And, nothing can sum it up better than this Mahatma Gandhi quote: Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

Agneya Singh's M Cream is painfully boring. One wishes if there were a better, less offensive, classier and subtler way to say it, but sadly, a person would be hard-pressed to find words that could better explain the film than "painfully boring". The film is as aimless and pointless as its protagonists, and Agneya Singh is no Richard Linklater or Gus Vant Sant who can create magic with a leisurely film about lost young folks. It is surprising how a film which tells the audience so many times about how non-conformist its protagonist wants to be, a film which pitches itself as 'India's First Stoner Film' and all that jazz, is so, so, so predictable. The film neither shocks nor jolts, forget entertaining or engaging; at least the film could have made you laugh, and the film does not even have jokes. The saving grace of the film is its cinematography, music, and well, Imaad Shah. Thank heavens, the film looks good, if not anything else. Cinematographer Mingjue Hu is a talent to watch out for. So is the music ensemble of Srijan Mahajan, Arsh Sharma and Nikhil Malik whose brilliant soundtrack did not deserve this film. Finally, Imaad Shah. The young lad fits the role of Figs to the T. If good acting is something where you cannot see the effort, something which convinces you about the reality of the character, then Imaad Shah is fantastic in M Cream. Nothing else matters.

Conceptually, Director Agneya Singh’s maiden venture M Cream, is an interesting road film, but fails to impress. It mirrors India, through the eyes of four pseudo-intellectual friends who explore the mountains for a mystical “Hashish” called M Cream. They travel from Delhi to Dharmasala and beyond, but instead of attaining solace through the drugs, they are hit by harsh realities of life. The narration begins with a roving camera capturing a rave party where cigarettes, drugs, booze and sex are flowing liberally, in one of the farm houses on the outskirts of Delhi. The script written Agneya Singh is an impassive, meandering narrative with verbose expositions that discuss; freedom, revolution, faith etc… The film is crafted like a soapbox lecture and you keep wondering where the narrative will lead to, till you realise that this is a slice of life film. On the performance front, the foursome portray their parts with perfection. On the technical front, Cinematographer Mingjue Hu’s visuals have an assorted blend of frames and shots. Some of which are truly impressive, either merged or mounted with multi-frames on screen. The background score elevates the mood of the subject, but the editing has some jarring edges. Overall, watch the film only if you want to encourage new talent.

Debutant director Agneya Singh takes an uncanny approach in his depiction of the Indian middle class. Instead of glorifying them, he unravels their flawed side. These youngsters are from affluent families, lacking a sense of purpose. They are losing their bodies and soul to alcohol and drugs. At its basic premise, the plot has promise. But its slim screenplay fails to delve better into the psyche of these youngsters, making the characters caricaturish. No wonder the film feels crammed with information. You wish it were more coherent! Singh makes a few pertinent remarks on this generation which is debatably described as 'a wretched blob of uppers and downers.' But the narrative remains pretentious. There is a lack of depth, be it in the characters or subplots. The acting is average and someone as high up as Barry John could've been better used. M Cream is incomprehensible in parts, poignant in others but it is mostly a pointless movie. Though brimming with raw energy, the narrative lacks vision to use it right.