'Assi' review: Don't miss Anubhav Sinha's unsettling, important drama
What's the story
Anubhav Sinha's Assi is a fictional film, but it tackles a subject all of us are painfully, helplessly familiar with. Dark, gritty, searing, and designed to make you uncomfortable, Assi is an urgent, imperative watch. Bolstered by a near-perfect first half and a stacked ensemble, the film urges you to introspect and act before there's nothing left worth fighting for.
Plot
Tells the story of a gang-rape survivor looking for justice
Sinha's frequent collaborator Taapsee Pannu plays Raavi, a lawyer determined to seek justice for Parima (Kani Kusruti), the survivor of a brutal gang-rape. Parima is brutally wounded and left to die on the railway tracks, and the road to justice is long, arduous, and bleak. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays Vinay, Parima's husband, while Manoj Pahwa essays Deepraj, the father of one of the accused.
#1
No time for you to settle in this disturbing story
Writers Sinha and Gaurav Solanki craft a story that is both debilitating and shocking, plucked from everyday headlines. Sinha pulls off a casting coup, and Naseeruddin Shah, Ayyub, Supriya Pathak, Kumud Mishra, among others, adorn his realistic, raw world. It's also telling that the film is set in Delhi. If a horrendous gang-rape can happen in the capital, it can (and does) happen everywhere.
#2
Sinha continues to focus on relevant, timely themes
Sinha's cinema (Thappad, Bheed) has long reflected the masses, and he continues to choose grounded stories. We read sexual assault news, sigh, and then move on, but Sinha wants us to pause, reflect, and address the root cause. Unsettling images of Parima's gang-rape jump at you from the screen; you want to look away, but for how long can you turn a blind eye?
#3
Sinha builds a dark, harrowing world
A sense of claustrophobia and uneasiness takes over the scene right from the moment Parima is chased by a group of men. It is the kind of fear all women know unmistakably, the kind that makes your heart race. Sinha is patient with his storytelling, taking his time to slowly etch out how Parima's ordinary life spirals into a nightmare over just one night.
#4
Areas where the director loses grip on the story
Sinha evidently slips post-interval. An awkward, impactless vigilante angle is introduced, and it rapidly dilutes the narrative's intensity. Moreover, Pannu's performance, surprisingly, leaves much to be desired. She has some great, hard-hitting dialogues, but every time I looked for Raavi, I only found Pannu. The film is also a little preachy and tries hard to address multiple social evils at once.
Verdict
Well worth your time; 3.5/5 stars
Sinha allows the movie to breathe, and there is much to observe in nearly every scene. Assi is not flawless, but it's a critical watch, especially for adolescents. Released at a time when violent, masculine cinema rules India, Assi might struggle to find takers, but it's one of the most important movies of our time due to its ever-relevant themes. 3.5/5 stars.