Sister Midnight: When the title of a film borrows from Iggy Pop, it’s surely got to be punk. Karan Kandhari’s debut feature is a celebration of grotesque that’s sonically silent, and yet visually loud. Incoherent and disjointed in its meticulous design, the film breathes in motifs and metaphors of a subaltern Bombay, writhing for space amidst cramped shanties and copious neighbours.
Radhika Apte is effortlessly Uma, an oddball emigrant in a world of faux marriage, stunted desire, and carnal boredom. Her transition to a blood-thirsty feral Goddess speaks for every woman braving the patriarchal fiefdom.
The soundtrack by Paul Banks, with tracks from Howlin Wolf, Motorhead, and The Stooges is a rebellious exercise in juxtaposition that bends the contours of context and comprehension.
The visual language borrows heavily from the deadpan aura of Aki Kaurismaki and the track-pan symmetry of Wes Anderson, who has equally shaped the writers vision along with Iggy Pop. Definitely an enjoyable watch if you are one of those who thinks a film is so much more than a plot.
(This is a film review by Snigdha Deb Ganguly, a senior journalist with over 20 years of experience)
