Although the plot of EHT would be regarded as the usual 70's exploitation/revenge fare, there's nothing typical about the fact that it is a Bollywood movie.
Female protagonists are rare enough, but avenging angel avatars are rarer still. Sriram Raghavan weaves an intriguing game of cat and mouse where hunter and prey constantly switch roles.
Add to this another layer of players - that of cops and robbers, and you have a veritable maze of secrets and lies.
Although the film follows genre conventions, it does so with a sense of playful cynicism, always toying with the audience's expectations. It topples various Bollywood boy-meets-girl clichés and asks us to reexamine our preconceived notions.
EHT's main underlying theme reflects the evolving tastes and preferences of the Indian middle class - Prissy girl, though reluctant at first, is eventually seduced by mysterious stranger who delivers her deep dark fantasy escape from a safe and mundane existence, but at the ultimate price her very freedom. Death drive overdrive.
Possibly the most fascinating aspect of the film though is the undercurrent of masochism that runs through it. Sarika is submissive, conformist and physically weak and defenseless. Even her beauty is a liability and is more than once cause for undue attention.
She is always confined (repressed) first by convention and culture, and later literally when she is wrongfully jailed.
She must come to terms with her own femininity (sexuality) and only then can she be liberated. Although her metmorphosis in the film is not entirely believable, that's the general idea.
Though Sarika is the submissive party in the first half and is constantly victimized physically and emotionally, the tables are turned in the end when the dominant Karan is tied up in the cave a return to the womb as it were, and left to be devoured by ravenous rodents messengers of the wrathful goddess herself.
But the film is far from being some kind of feminist diatribe. This is still Bollywood.
The cat and mouse scenario perpetuates itself in all sorts of interesting ways. In probably the most memorable scene in the film, Karan and Sarika engage in a game of questions and answers, of truth and lies, a sort of icebreaker. This is in fact a piece of a bigger puzzle - a larger game they seem to enacting one of role-playing Karan as the mysterious predator, Sarika as the poor defenseless damsel.
Another interesting scene occurs when, after flying the coop Sarika sees Karan in the arms of another girl and her reaction is one of agony and loathing totally understandable however, the context renders it ambiguous. Is the emotion the result of being betrayed and falsely imprisoned or being two-timed by another woman? Moments like these elevate the film from being mere revenge play.
EHT is not perfect it has pacing issues and even comes close to imploding in the third act with a hastily assembled climax, but it's assured sense of direction and strong performances by the lead and supporting cast save it from self-destructing.
But my main complaint has little to do with plot machinations. The film provides a great canvas for tackling taboo topics like sexual dynamics, gender roles, etc. and even takes a stab at them every now and then, but it fails to draw blood. It feels like the film is holding back for some reason.
Although EHT's subversive potential is largely untapped, Sriram Raghavan is clearly a talent to watch out for. I for one am curious to see what he comes up with next.
Female protagonists are rare enough, but avenging angel avatars are rarer still. Sriram Raghavan weaves an intriguing game of cat and mouse where hunter and prey constantly switch roles.
Add to this another layer of players - that of cops and robbers, and you have a veritable maze of secrets and lies.
Although the film follows genre conventions, it does so with a sense of playful cynicism, always toying with the audience's expectations. It topples various Bollywood boy-meets-girl clichés and asks us to reexamine our preconceived notions.
EHT's main underlying theme reflects the evolving tastes and preferences of the Indian middle class - Prissy girl, though reluctant at first, is eventually seduced by mysterious stranger who delivers her deep dark fantasy escape from a safe and mundane existence, but at the ultimate price her very freedom. Death drive overdrive.
Possibly the most fascinating aspect of the film though is the undercurrent of masochism that runs through it. Sarika is submissive, conformist and physically weak and defenseless. Even her beauty is a liability and is more than once cause for undue attention.
She is always confined (repressed) first by convention and culture, and later literally when she is wrongfully jailed.
She must come to terms with her own femininity (sexuality) and only then can she be liberated. Although her metmorphosis in the film is not entirely believable, that's the general idea.
Though Sarika is the submissive party in the first half and is constantly victimized physically and emotionally, the tables are turned in the end when the dominant Karan is tied up in the cave a return to the womb as it were, and left to be devoured by ravenous rodents messengers of the wrathful goddess herself.
But the film is far from being some kind of feminist diatribe. This is still Bollywood.
The cat and mouse scenario perpetuates itself in all sorts of interesting ways. In probably the most memorable scene in the film, Karan and Sarika engage in a game of questions and answers, of truth and lies, a sort of icebreaker. This is in fact a piece of a bigger puzzle - a larger game they seem to enacting one of role-playing Karan as the mysterious predator, Sarika as the poor defenseless damsel.
Another interesting scene occurs when, after flying the coop Sarika sees Karan in the arms of another girl and her reaction is one of agony and loathing totally understandable however, the context renders it ambiguous. Is the emotion the result of being betrayed and falsely imprisoned or being two-timed by another woman? Moments like these elevate the film from being mere revenge play.
EHT is not perfect it has pacing issues and even comes close to imploding in the third act with a hastily assembled climax, but it's assured sense of direction and strong performances by the lead and supporting cast save it from self-destructing.
But my main complaint has little to do with plot machinations. The film provides a great canvas for tackling taboo topics like sexual dynamics, gender roles, etc. and even takes a stab at them every now and then, but it fails to draw blood. It feels like the film is holding back for some reason.
Although EHT's subversive potential is largely untapped, Sriram Raghavan is clearly a talent to watch out for. I for one am curious to see what he comes up with next.