Five reasons why Ahalya is garnering all the right responses

Sujoy Ghosh's 14 minute traler already has more than a million YouTube views

Sujoy Ghosh’s new Bengali short film, Ahalya, has been garnering a lot of praises. Part of ‘Large Short Films’, a series of short movies, this 14-minute edge-of-the-seat thriller has already gone viral, with nearly 1.1 million views on YouTube in three days. Akin somewhat to Roald Dahl’s lesser known spooky last-line twisters, and heavily reminiscent of Satyajit Ray’s Professor  Shonku O Ashchorjo Putul  (Professor Shonku and the Wonderful Doll), Ahalya  turns the age-old mythic tale on its head in this new-age feminist take. 

Here are five reasons why Ahalya has received such acclaim:

1. The acting

Sujoy Ghosh’s film engages five actors, two of them in minor roles. The film primarily rides on the shoulders of its lead trio: Bengali veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who plays the role of the ageing sculptor Goutam Sadhu; Radhika Apte, who plays the role of his young wife Ahalya; and Tota Roy Chowdhury essaying the role of Inspector Indra Sen. 

Chatterjee plays the perfect foil to the seductress Apte plays, and he sails through the role of a slightly eccentric old artist, fondly showing off his daughter-aged wife with a Cheshire cat-like smile. Apte speaks less, but her expressions make her the perfect fit for the role. Coy, sensual and subtly alluring, she is the disaster waiting to happen to the wood-faced inspector Roy Chowdhury  plays. Together, the three would keep you guessing their next move. 

2. The feel
 

It’s not the acting alone. Ahalya’s distinct spookiness comes out through the film’s background score and cinematography, too. The ageing artist Sadhu’s expansive apartment in what looks like Kolkata becomes the perfect substitute for the ancient sage’s idyllic hermitage (from the original fable). It is here that the entire movie plays out, largely in the drawing room and briefly the bedroom. As one enters, the simultaneous feeling of abundance and a spooky emptiness sets the mood right from the first scene.

The music uses new-age instruments, and is a constant presence. This could have made it heavy and overbearing on the plot, but surprisingly it is not so. Every footstep, clink and breath is audible, and it is on these that the plot turns.

3. The fresh take and topicality
 

Ahalya’s story is an oft-repeated fable about adultery, rage, innocence and lust. An integral part of the Ramayana’s plot, it has been an example of how women have been a constant victim of patriarchal whims from the oldest time. Sujoy Ghosh’s feminist take is neither about the epic nor about the thrill. It is a dark take on new-age morality. In fact — without giving a spoiler — the film’s major plot twist is a comment on the modern man’s assumption of unchallenged right over women’s sexuality. However, all said and done, there is also a subtle hint at how the woman’s fight against the still-prevalent patriarchy is somewhat subservient to the man’s whims.

4. The ease of access

A major reason why the film has garnered such a massive response, besides the film itself, is how it has been released in the public. The 14-minute YouTube video is the kind of thing one would find perfectly easy to post on Facebook, share with friends on Twitter, and urge people to see it as soon as possible. It is a smart way to capitalise on the ‘viral’ phenomenon of social media.

5. Thriller is in?

Last but not the least, the genre itself is a strong crowd-puller for the Indian movie watcher today. After the success of Kahaani, Byomkesh Bakshi and Race, and a slew of thrillers rocking the Bengali film industry, this seems to be a genre slowly gaining foothold both among makers and watchers of movies.

So now that we have told you, why not watch it here?