Teenager Janaki and her scrawny paramour visit the city behind her mother’s back. He’s arranged for a ride from his boss, a sullen man who tells Janaki that he knows she’s lied to her mother. The trio drive into the city where the teenagers are besotted with the lights, the malls and the beach. They lose track of time and are forced to stay the night in a bare-bones motel where the horrors begin. A magic realist portrait of India’s growing pains.
水之影
Italy
Venice International Film Festival
IndiaUA
Switzerland12
India
Italy
Switzerland
To be very honest I wasnt a fan of Sanal Kumar Shashidharan's Much acclaimed IFFK winner "An off day game".
He then went onto win best picture at the Rotterdam Film Festival with his scriptless movie "Sexy Durga".
So, my expectation on Chola was very "An off day game"-esque, but I thought I'd give it a try because of the Venice Film Festival buzz and all that, but goddamn this movie scared the shit outta me.
Imagine a highly patriarchical movie which does not pose to abide optimism rather abides pessimism and then just ends all of a sudden. It sure was very disturbing yet weirdly alluring to watch Chola.
Janaki, a young girl gets raped by "Aashaan" and then…
Who do I belong to?
Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's Chola is a bizarre, nightmarish, and deeply psychological thriller film that depicts the bestial and savage instincts of human beings. The third installment of oppression trilogy and the companion piece to Ozhivudivasathe Kali and Sexy Durga, Chola is a meticulously crafted visually atmospheric narrative film that blends mythology and psychology. It provides a dark and twisted reinterpretation of the epic Ramayana in which women are represented as playthings of patriarchy and male-dominance and as vehicles of oppression. It also belongs to the road-movie genre as it showcases the journey of the three protagonists that leads to a lot of trials and tribulations, and at last, ends in catastrophe.
Set mostly in…
wow that was quick
Chola is a story of Janaki, a young naive schoolgirl who lands between Life and Death. Life being her Boyfriend and Death being Boss, whereas Life is too fragile and easily manipulated and Death being powerful and inevitable.
The story really begins after Janaki is raped in hotel, therefore the War between Life and Death begin wherein Death is dominating and leaves Janaki no option but to accept her fate and resent Life and follow, The character of Boss played by Joju George is the new face of death replacing The Death in Seventh Seal, he toys with Janaki as Death does.
Meanwhile, Life makes weak attempts on regaining Janaki but of no use in front of the mighty Death.…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
This is sadly, the last QCinema film that I was able to watch.
If I'm being completely honest, I still have absolutely no idea what to feel about this film.
This film is incredibly shocking, it starts off as a young girl going out and having what looks to be a pretty good time, and then...
Everything changes.
She is traumatized and broken beyond belief.
Her innocence has been taken and thrown away.
The tragic part is, she couldn't even find the strength to fight back.
A young girl has been forced to become a woman, despite her wanting to remain pure and wanting to return home to her mother before she gets scolded for staying out too late.
Blinded…
"Sanal Kumar Sasidharan continues his study of oppression in a twisted, chilling retelling of the Ramayana"
A worthy successor to Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala (1987), in exposing the horror it is to be a woman in India.
ஒரு சாதாரண ஒரு வரிக்கதையை பார்வையாளனுக்கு, இலக்கிய தரத்துடன், தத்துவார்ந்த கேள்விகளை எழுப்பி விவாதிக்கும் படியும் படைத்து இருக்கிறார் இயக்குநர் சனல்குமார்சசிதரன் சொல்லப்போனால், இந்திய சினிமாவில் இப்படி கதை சொல்லல் முறை அரிது, அதிலும் திரில்லர் பாணியில் தத்துவரீதியாகவும் கதையை நகர்த்த முடியும் என்பதையும் நிருபித்து இருக்கிறது இந்த சோலா....கண்டிப்பாக ஒரு அழுத்தமான படைப்பு என்று தான்
சொல்ல வேண்டும்...
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan sure knows how to capture the bestial nature of humans. The sound mixing is commendable, and therefore the output is atmospheric. But the storyline is weak, despite the shock value of the plot point. The performances are okay. Chola is a director’s film which is pretty good on the technical side, but kind of lost when it comes to the screenplay.
I would not have watched this film had i known about the little bit of a plot.
It is very very disturbing watch.
I just want to forget this film.
"Before being human, we are animals". Deeply disturbing and leaves you haunted. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's style of movie making is something very unique and special. It stays with you long after the credits and makes you think about humanity.
It had a promising start but went haywire and weird towards the end
