Archive of films Ugly / Ugly
India
2013, 124 min
Section:
Tribute to Anurag Kashyap
Year: 2014
A stylised, psychological thriller revolving around a kidnap drama, the film is a cynical exposé of games people play. When the estranged Rahul goes to report his missing daughter, it turns out that the girl is also the police chief’s stepdaughter. The drama involves many characters driven by selfishness, corruption, patriarchy and violence, leading to a horrific climax.
Synopsis
Anurag Kashyap’s stylized thriller Ugly (2013) was screened in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight last year. A psychological thriller revolving around a kidnap drama, the film is a cynical exposé of the power games people play. Shalini (Tejaswini Kolhapure), a clinically depressed housewife kept at home as a semi-prisoner by her macho senior police officer husband Shoumik Bose (Ronit Roy), is considering suicide. Her daughter Kali, from her previous marriage to Rahul (Rahul Bhat), spends the day with her father as dictated by the custody arrangements. But Rahul, a struggling actor, leaves Kali in the car while he goes to collect a script from a friend, then realises she is missing. He goes to file a missing persons report, but the dawdling policeman on duty (Girish Kulkarni) springs into action only when he realises that the girl is his boss Bose’s stepdaughter. Bose detests his wife’s ex, and so a taut game of one-upmanship follows between Bose and Rahul to find the girl, each tripping up the other in scenes involving graphic police brutality and domestic abuse. The ensuing drama allows the director to cast a bleak eye on a range of characters driven by greed, selfishness, corruption, patriarchy, egotism and violence. Roy is effective as the short-fused police chief, while Kolhapure’s despair is convincing. Shot on Mumbai’s mean streets, the camera and editing imbue this gritty film with a menacing energy that packs a horrific wallop in the climax.
Contacts
Elle Driver
44, Rue Blanche, 750 09, Paris
France
Tel: +33 156 434 870
Fax: +33 145 614 608
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.elledriver.fr
About the film
Color, DCP
Section: | Tribute to Anurag Kashyap |
---|---|
Director: | Anurag Kashyap |
Screenplay: | Anurag Kashyap |
Dir. of Photography: | Nikos Andritsakis |
Music: | Brian McOmber, G. V. Prakash Kumar |
Editor: | Aarti Bajaj |
Producer: | Madhu Mantena, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane |
Production: | Phantom Film |
Coproduction: | Dar Motion Picture |
Cast: | Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Tejaswini Kolhapure |
Contact: | Elle Driver |
Guests
Anurag Kashyap
Film Director