There’s a reason why this short film has gone viral, and that’s because it’s outstandingly brilliant. A perfect example of a very simple idea executed to perfection, Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh has done it again. This time with Ahalya, a 14-minute video.
Ahalya is a modern day adaptation of a Ramayana story, where a beautiful woman of the same name commits infidelity with Lord Indra and gets caught by her elderly husband, Gautama, who curses her to be turned into a stone.
Ghosh has taken liberty with the original version of the story and approaches it with a feminist perspective. So well-shot and perfectly timed, Ahalya is an absolute triumph of a short film, with its careful and crafty direction. Soumitra Chatterjee, Radhika Apte and Tota Roy Chowdhury perform the lead roles brilliantly.
Seasoned with a pinch of fantasy and a dash of magic, Ahalya sends shivers down the spine and the free mixing of Bengali and English in the dialogues adds to its charm.