Sexy Durga

Director, Writer: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan

Producers: Shaji Mathew, Aruna Mathew.

Starring: Rajshri Deshpande, Kannan Nayar,Vedh, Sujeesh KS, Arun Sol

Language: Malayalam

"Sexy Durga" surprised everyone when it won the 'Hivos Tiger Award' in the IFFR. Directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, the plot follows the protagonist Durga running away with the Keralite boy Kabeer. The title "Sexy Durga" derives from the Hindu Goddess of Destruction. This may seem quite controversial, but it fits well with what the director wanted to achieve. Marketed as "a film with no story", the events begin when the couple takes a car ride from two criminals. The criminals happen to be supplying arms, and the couple is suspicious of them from the very beginning. What makes the film interesting is the parallelism that the director portrays all throughout. We follow the protagonists, and then we follow a mysterious ritual called "Garudan Thookkam" in a village, where the Goddess Kali is being worshipped.

The film is intense, to say the least. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan does a brilliant job of keeping the tension, especially during intense moments. The actors are exceptional; Rajshri Deshpande does complete justice to the role of Durga who was supposed to juxtapose Goddess Durga in the film. For my personal tastes, the action got a tad too violent at times, especially with some of the rituals displayed which involve people hanging by their skin. However, there is no denying that the film gets its point across to the audience, however they may interpret it.