KSHAY (2012)

I’ll not feel apologetic, if I claim that I ended up watching India’s best film ever made on psychological obsession. Independent cinemas in India do not evolve much or perhaps it didn't reach it's due audience due to possible struggling and financial hurdles but this film created ripples around various Film Festivals of emerging Asian cinema. Considering the debut film, I must say writer, director & co-producer Karan Gour deserve standing ovation for this; one can witness his brilliance in more than one facet of film making here. With low budget, minimalist approach & arresting B&W cinematography he created something so unusual that’s hard to achieve even if somebody had used all the available resources of biggest production houses.

The film is personification of obsession in form (big sculpting idol of Goddess Lakshmi) and it’s fuelled by intangible desire hard to get rid of. A simple middle class young house wife encounters an idol of Goddess Lakshmi and instantly wanted to buy it. Since the cost is too expensive and out of her budget, she decided to buy it as soon as she settle down with some money. However her life is tangible and she has to juggle with limited resources. The seed of obsession for idol gets enough fuel by personal tragedy and middle class neighbor’s indication of faith to heal all problems. The thought soon becomes so deadly obsession leading towards an inevitable dark nightmare like personal tragedy.

The film has stamp of brilliance all over in its intriguing narration, visual projections and well nuanced natural act by both lead players showing the obsessive perspective. The film wouldn’t be same without Rasika Dugal and Alekh Sangal. The claustrophobic set up of apartment room and B&W images instantly reminds me Polanski’s ‘Repulsion’. However the personal psychological neurosis and tragedy of the film lies in obsession of thought, the film also remotely projected the alienation and exploitation that the city breed to lower middle class. That triangular stone keep reflecting throughout the film is projected like some jinx object and it creates some sort of surreal effect with company of sound and visuals. Maybe the next time I see Lakshimiji around, it’ll immediately remind me of this film…such was intensity of the film!

Highly recommended is understatement in this case.