Set
in
the
mythic
killing
fields
of
rural
Bihar
where
nothing
works,
except
the
law
of
the
lawless
Antardwand
takes
the
firm
and
gripping
route
to
expose
a
hinterland-headline:
the
kidnapping
of
marriageable
boys
by
desperate
fathers
of
wannabe
brides.
This
was
a
prevalent
malpractice
in
Bihar
until
some
years
ago.
Not
so
much
any
more.
Debutant
director
Sushil
Rajpal's
film
works
more
for
its
deeper
resonances
than
just
the
surface
sincerity.
It
is
not
so
much
the
sensational
value
of
the
theme
(dulha
utha
gaya)
that
makes
Antardwand
watch
able
as
the
treatment
of
the
layers
of
socio-political
irregularities
and
caste
aberrations
that
generate
a
society
of
anarchy
where
kidnapping
an
aspiring
groom
is
serious
business.
The
narrative
is
punctuated
with
bouts
of
savage
humour.
When
the
Delhi
University
civil-service
candidate
Raghuveer
(Raj
Singh
Choudhary)
with
a
pregnant
girlfriend
(Himanshi),
is
kidnapped
just
yards
away
from
his
parents'
home
in
rural
Bihar
his
confoundedness
and
rage
at
the
bizarre
confinement
is
expressed
in
bouts
and
spasms
of
indignance.
The
director
knows
the
milieu
well.
He
doesn't
waste
time
exploring
rural
Bihar
just
because
he
has
chosen
to
film
his
story
on
location.
Incidentally
Prakash
Jha
who
has
never
shot
any
of
his
Bihari
films
in
Bihar
should
take
note
of
how
steeply
the
level
of
authenticity
rises
in
Antardwand
when
the
characters
are
placed
in
their
true
habitat.
The
narrative
never
loses
its
momentum.
Rather
than
opt
for
a
dry
docu-drama
tone
director
Sushil
Rajpal
has
chosen
to
format
the
film
as
a
thriller.
The
pace
from
the
moment
of
Raghuveer's
kidnapping
to
his
escape
is
largely
relentless.
The
second-half
of
the
plot
gets
more
introspective,
as
it
becomes
the
story
of
the
humiliated
bride
(newcomer
Swati
Sen,
well
cast)
who
finds
herself
married
to
a
man
who
has
been
forced
to
wed
her.
The
rage
of
confinement
and
the
anguish
of
rejection
ooze
out
of
the
tense
frames.
Sequences
in
the
couple's
bedroom
with
a
gigantic
tell-tale
double-bed
at
its
centre,
capture
the
ironical
nullity
of
a
marriage
based
on
bullying
tactics.
There
is
an
element
of
naive
desperation
in
the
couple's
shared
space.
The
writing
is
hard-hitting
but
relentless
supple
and
slender.
There
is
ample
room
for
innuendoes
in
the
dialogue
and
situations.
Antardwand
avoids
the
easy
road
to
realism.
The
ambience
does
not
depend
on
how
the
actors
pitch
the
accent
in
the
spoken
word
or
their
body
language.
Though
these
are
authentic,
it's
the
deeper
malaise
of
a
society
buried
neck-deep
in
prejudices
and
superstition
that
the
director
focuses
on.
The
camera-work
by
Malay
Ray
is
exploratory
but
non-judgemental.
Scenes
of
characters
moving
in
and
out
of
dark
old-fashioned
interiors
are
shot
without
wallowing
in
symbolism.
The
performances
are
thoughtful.
Akhilendra
Mishra
and
Vinay
Pathak
pitch
into
the
ambience
of
rousing
realism
as
the
father
of
the
bride
and
the
kidnapped
groom,
respectively.
Raj
Singh
Choudhary
as
the
precious
groom
last
seen
in
Anurag
Kashyap's
Gulaal
again
reveals
an
admirable
ability
to
blend
into
the
bleeding
fabric
of
mofussil
mayhem.
The
film
is
suffused
with
sincerely
sketched
character.
Jaya
Bhattacharya
as
the
bride's
far-from-persecuted
Bhabhi
and
for
that
matter
the
unknown
actor
Dadhi
Raj
Paney
who
plays
Akhilendra
Mishra's
faithful
servant,
bring
a
kind
of
fringe
fertility
into
the
storytelling.
The
finale
is
self-indulgent
in
its
idealism.
A
society
so
breached
by
gender
and
caste
biases
cannot
be
lit
up
by
a
sudden
beam
of
optimistic
light.
But
no
harm
in
trying.
Antardwand
is
a
commendable
attempt
to
examine
the
underbelly
of
rural
Bihar.
It
doesn't
purport
to
shake
up
the
status
quo.
The
film
only
wants
to
remind
us
that
we
need
to
heal
our
collective
social
conscience
before
curing
the
discrepancies
that
feed
into
our
dream
of
emerging
from
the
darkness
into
the
light.
Story first published: Friday, August 27, 2010, 15:23 [IST]