A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines

Benjamin Franklin

Andhaghaaram (transl. Darkness) – A modern psychological and supernatural thriller that is both entertaining and intriguing.

The premise is one with simple dimensions. The protagonists are smartly set across the spectrum of Chennai middle-class society. Dr. Indran – a clinical psychiatrist with steadfast conviction. Selvam – a blind library clerk and occultism enthusiast. Pooja – Selvam’s teacher in the school for blind. Vinod – a chain-smoking cricket coach battling money and psychological issues. And lastly, a book and a rotary telephone! Thankfully, the latter two don’t have any spoken lines!

How their lives are intricately woven and how each plays a role in creating and resolving conflict(s) in others forms the crux of the story.

The initial credits roll, and the tone and tempo of the narrative is set in matte black with compelling visuals backing the onset of a gripping story. You can be assured to not engage with your smartphone for a long while. What follows up and until the end fits – like a T – into Pareto principle aka 80/20 rule. It is the 20% of lackluster filmmaking and story-telling that profoundly destroys the 80% of sheer brilliance.

First about the 80% that I reckon really cranks the edge-of-the-seat thriller machine and sets it going. A minimalist approach backed by intelligent technicalities – visual story-telling, slick editing, background score and principal cast. Scene for scene, that are qualifiable, could match international cinema of same genre and even give them a run for their money.

Over to the 20% that really has a tsunami like effect on the entire film. A sudden deluge and hodgepodge of events and crisscross of timelines in the last thirty minutes is utterly incomprehensible and leaves you gasping for some cinematic reassurance. It tends to question the viewer’s intelligence and purpose of investing time on the proceedings. The richness and depth of visuals is alarmingly absent. It feels like an altogether different storyteller was at the helm of the megaphone.

Just after watching the film, in another part of the real world, I caught up to the news that the 2021 French Open was postponed due to pandemic reasons, again! I couldn’t but resist giving a Tennis metaphor to the film and its storyteller. It was like a rookie wildcard entrant battling it out on blazing fast blades of marquee grass court. A lot of power and panache in the front-end before the rigmarole of closing the match. A see-saw battle in the third set; and more importantly each one of the twelve games of the last two sets going into deuce! The final scorecard would read 6-0 6-0 6-7 0-6 0-6. The interesting part is, if you do not sit through the last two sets, you wouldn’t experience the outcome.

Did the sudden random analogy strike a chord with you? Regardless of yes or no, the film is certainly worth a watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I urge you to add it to your Netflix watchlist, that is if you have a penchant for the genre.

This darkness started with a lot of substance and rushed to its destination, shedding some finesse along the way.