Kshay Hindi Movie
Kshay, not much may have been heard, written or said about the film. The film hasn't even done the rounds of too many film festivals neither has had great promotion. But one look at the promo and the dark, stark, black and white brooding of the film gives an impression of being an interesting and intellectual watch. Whether it lives by what it depicts in the promos let's find out.
Married to a struggling construction worker, Chhaya (Rasika Duggal) comes across an idol of Goddess Laxmi and demands her husband to buy it for her instantly. But with the idol being of a whopping 15 thousand rupees, the monetarily struggling husband Arvind (Alekh Sangal) refuses to comply with her demands. But Chhaya's desire to have the sculpture at home continues to grow till it reaches a point of obsession. How the obsession exasperates and consumes her from within follows through the rest of the story.
From the promo itself, Kshay comes across as a brooding, stark psychological thriller. However, what it ends up being is a film school project which can at most be termed as experimental cinema that doesn't quite leave an impact. The treatment of the subject is spot on, but where it lags is a good script.
For a film to hold the audience attention and by that I mean the aam junta as Kshay makes for a commercial release, it should have the commercial elements. But the filmmaker gets tad too experimental using excessive amounts of symbolism and metaphors making it appealing to only the film afficianados.
Filmmaker Karan Gaur's portrayal of obsession borders on horror genre giving a very forced appeal to the film. There's a lot of time wasted in close, unwanted shots as if not only is the character obsessed by the idol, the cinematographer too is obsessed by the actress. The film moves at snail's pace with scenes ranging from pointless to cryptic leaving the viewer exhausted and bored. Moreover, the end comes out far too predictive. An open end to a psychological thriller, perhaps, could've worked better.
On the acting front, both actors Rasika Duggal and Alekh Sangal go a fabulous job. While the changing expressions of Rasika from being comely and homely to turning frightfully obsessed is commendable, even Alekh's response to his onscreen wife's inexplicable growing madness is convincing.
To sum it up, Kshay would find it difficult to find takers in the commercial space.
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