Synopsis
Aarti Mishra (Deepti Naval) travels to Calcutta following the death of her only son Siddharth in a car accident. She is met by her son's colleague, Sahana Choudhury (Raima Sen) who takes her to the crematorium where her other co-workers have assembled. There, she is introduced to Ornob Mitra (Rituparno Ghosh), the creative director of the agency where her son worked. Her grief is rigidly under control and the conversation is as awkward between the two strangers, as are the silences. He hands her Siddharth's belongings including his cell phone and laptop. Aarti asks to be taken to the accident spot and Sahana takes her; there, she bursts out with questions that plague her. What was his hurry? At 2 in the morning, the roads would have been empty. How often had she warned him, go slow, go slow. The next morning, Aarti goes to the agency. There, she signs his insurance papers (she is the nominee), and is taken to his desk. Unfortunately for her, it has already been assigned to a new copywriter. She handles that with characteristic restraint, but is taken aback when Ornob asks her for a day to hand over Siddharth's personal belongings, including the pictures on his softboard. A distraught Aarti leaves the office, followed by Sahana. Aarti's anger leads to a revelation that is even more shocking to her than her son's death. Siddharth and Ornob were lovers.She is almost in denial at first. "Do you know how many girls used to drool over him in Delhi?" she asks Sahana. "Yes, but did he drool back?" Sahana asks. "No, probably because he felt they were not up to the mark." When Siddharth first joined the office she had had a huge crush on him. Everyone knew, including Siddharth, but he never responded. Aarti is sure that Sahana should have waited, for after all, these things take time. Sahana demurs. She did wait. Until, one day, three months later, Siddharth took her out to dinner, and told her about Ornob. Aarti is shocked. Her son, Siddharth, actually said that? The next morning, Ornob comes to visit her, bringing with him Siddharth's belongings. The silence stretches awkwardly until Aarti breaks it by accusing Ornob of seducing her son. She is taken aback when Ornob asks her what she would say if he told her it was the other way around. His outburst as he leaves gives gives Aarti a glimpse into his never ending pain. In a series of conversations and dinners together, she comes to understand Ornob better, and through him, her Siddharth; and even though there are squabbles and disagreements and sadness, there is also laughter and shared warmth. Finally, it is time for her to leave, and as Ornob writes on Siddharth's FaceBook account, "If I have to go away, can I leave a little bit of me with you? Memories in March is as much an ode to love and loss, as it is about wanting to be accepted by a society that sees you as deviant for just being yourself. Memories in March deals with one character's homosexuality, and another's coming to terms with it.