All We Imagine as Light Is Mundanity in All of Its Unabashed Glory

Ah, here I am cropping back up on the Goggler mainframe after far too long. 

I’ll confess, since I began working as a [redacted] at [redacted], my creative well had run disappointingly dry. Every thought I had felt uninspired. I struggled to write a coherent sentence that didn’t read like it was churned out of AI. Writer’s block, a once temporary visitor, had now taken up permanent residence in my head. Something had to be done.

So a spontaneous Friday night visit to my local cinema was a tame effort to reignite that spark. To revive my paralysed limbs. To pry the nail of the coffin that was my creative career. Or in a less dramatic sense, to find a flicker of inspiration – of a time when my words would flow effortlessly – somewhere between the trailers and the closing credits. 

And as the light dimmed and the screen came to life, I knew I found the perfect antidote, in all the right beats.

So let’s get on with the review, shall we?

Sisterhood in the Shadows

All We Imagine As Light follows the intertwined lives of two migrant nurses – the older Prabha (played by Kani Kusruti) and younger Anu (played Divya Prabha) – rooming in a matchbox apartment in metropolitan Mumbai. As head nurse, Prabha is well-respected and regarded by her colleagues, but her stoic exterior is a detachment; leaving her unable to indulge in the simplicities of an everyday conversation like catching a movie or gushing over an attractive actor. This carefully maintained exterior begins to crack when an unexpected present from her estranged husband arrives – a rice cooker sent all the way from Germany – stirring confusion within her. 

Next to a sobered and mature Prabha, Anu possessed the flighty and effervescence of youth. She’s the subject of gossip among the fellow nurses on account of her secret relationship with a Muslim man, whom Anu meets up with in the stolen hours of the night. Neither of the two women are able to confide in the other, their conversations laced with unspoken fears and cautious optimism. The weight of societal judgment looms over their bond, turning moments of intimacy into fragile reprieves. Their companionship offers solace even if incomplete –  two lives run parallel, rarely intersecting at the level of true vulnerability.

Love or Lack Thereof in the Big City

The story unfolds at a hazy meditative pace, where both women grapple with their anxieties with an increasing restlessness. Prabha moves about life mechanically, seemingly detached from deeper meaning amid Mumbai’s sweltering streets, a quiet resentment slowly bodes from within her, marriage a constant reminder of her isolation. Solitude is both a refuge and a prison; the omnipresence of her husband lingers in her psyche despite his physical absence. Kani Kusruti confronts these struggles with her signature saucer eyes, conveying more emotion than words ever could, while Divya Prabha infuses each scene with a flirty and fun-loving energy that sizzles in the backdrop of her roommate’s stoicism

Most of the film is set at night — a time when love, emotion, and loneliness finally find space to breathe. Mumbai feels alive. It buzzes with an energy that teeters on the edge of a sensory overload. People spill out from all corners, their voices merging into the city’s ceaseless hum. Personal space is nonexistent, and privacy feels like a luxury. Yet, every character aches with an unspoken longing. Breezy montages of mid-train commutes or strolls through the streets may seem unremarkable, yet they offer a strange comfort, grounding the story in the everyday. Every scene is punctuated with a certain melancholy, underscored by soulful jazz piano licks. The film captures the fleeting hours in the day where romantic musings and buried emotions draw breath, long after the sun has set.

This is usually where I offer a line or two on how All We Imagine As Light transformed me, but truth be told, I left the cinema halls unchanged. Payal Kapadia subtly reminds us that mundanity is a privilege that few can afford. A life that feels predictable and familiar – grounded in routines built on relentless hard work – holds its own kind of beauty. 

All We Imagine as Light is an ode to the working class lives of women – tucked between the margins – where nothing extraordinary happens yet the weight of their existence speaks volumes. It is mundanity in all its raw and unembellished glory.