A psychological thriller pulsing with great deliberateness, one easily becomes completely enveloped in the misty lush green countryside that contrasts with the razzle/dazzle of the big city, captured with Ajith Aacharya’s striking cinematography and enhanced by Sergey Cheremisinov’s unnerving soundtrack. We find a young couple stealing away from their hilly town in Kerala for a day trip in the city. Their journey is doomed from the start as their driver-chaperone, Boss, has an immediately sinister presence that brings an intensity to the film that also results in a high/level of distress for the female protagonist, Janaki.

Director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan

Reflecting on the Vithura and Suryanelli rape cases of 1995 and 1996, respectively, as motivations for making this film, director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s CHOLA serves as an indictment of both Indian culture and societies worldwide that continue to abuse and objectify women to this day.