Review: 'Agra' uses sexual frustration as a tool to show a deeply disturbing but vital portrait of our times

Agra

You don't sign up for a Kanu Behl movie expecting a happy-go-lucky time at the movies. A filmmaker that only works with subjects that tick his personal boxes of filmmaking returns after a hiatus of nine years when it comes to feature films in the form of Agra. His last film, Titli was a formidable feature and put him on notice instantly. Been a while but he now presents a probably more disturbing, gruesome yet important story with Agra.

Set in the confined spaces of a city, Agra (co-written by Behl and Atika Chohan) begins with things you can't imagine in your wildest dreams - eating food, being horny and having sex on a table, hued colors and a squirrel - you are immediately warned that this isnt going to any smooth ride and will have you thinking and paying attention to what's going on a lot more than anticipated. The film has won the Special Jury Award at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and having had the chance to see the film, here's what I thought about it-

Plethora of Topics & Morbid Reality

There's almost scarily too much going on in Agra - sexual frustration, economic divide, thwarted dreams, infidelity, patriarchy, dysfunctional family dynamics and so much more. In a film that runs about two hours ten minutes, it might seem like a lot to fathom but Agra catapults all these topics effectively. Bordering on insanity and self-destruction, the protagonist Guru (Mohit Agarwal) is trying to fight so many things as everything around him is crumbling. Agra doesn't believe in subtlety or more so, holding back. 

There is nothing left to imagination as you see some of the most disturbing and gruesome scenes imaginable ranging from a boy trying to sexually force himself on his cousin to a mother-son quarrel leading to the former accidentally tearing off his mother's night gown. It is indeed a lot to consume but it serves the purpose of the story and highlights the morbid reality of people who live in these situations. Gradually turning into an optimistic tale for a few moments, Agra never entirely deviates from its story and intention.

The Overarching Message, References & Takeaway

The world that Behl transports you to is suffocating and even has you flinching away as a viewer but that is perhaps what Behl wants you to feel and fathom - the sheer madness and chaos it engulfs you in. With the story deviating upon the arrival of Priyanka Bose's Priti, it mellows down the proceedings to a large extent and even has a hope for humanity to be a factor. But soon, that crumbles as well. 

The one part where Behl inserts an easter egg is having a popular old Hindi song play in the background that was picturised on none other than Rahul Roy - who also plays the father in Agra. Your takeaway from Agra can waver from being too perturbed by the happenings, the naked truth of the characters - figuratively and literally or just being too disturbed by everything going on. But it's important that there is a takeaway.

The Verdict

As sweat wrangles down on every actor in the frame in a confined space, you know that Agra isn't going to beautify or soften the blows on-screen or the ones that are coming at you offscreen. But it still serves as an essential portrait of the times we live in being in the garb of human behavior.

Rating - **** (4/5)