'Agra' Movie Review: Kanu Behl and Rahul Roy's new film is restless, jolting, and discomforting

Cast: Mohit Agarwal, Vibha Chibber, Rahul Roy, Priyanka Bose

Director: Kanu Behl

Language: Hindi

Why filmmaker Kanu Behl names his movies the way he does should be studied. His 2015 film was curiously called Titli. One could be swayed by the fragility and gorgeousness of the title. Only once you witnessed what Behl had in store, you would be shocked at the bone chilling violence on display. His new film is called Agra. There are no fleeting shots or even a glimpse of the Taj Mahal. It’s about an impoverished household and its indignant protagonist named Guru, played by Mohit Agarwal with alarming alacrity. He’s sexually starved and perpetually hunting for opportunities to gratify his carnal appetite. The trippy visuals inserted in the narrative speak for his twisted and distorted mind. A scene where he yelps stands out purely because of how unpredictable his reaction is. The subject of this film is neither easy to make nor easy to watch. The filmmaker tells the story of a shaky household whose youngest member is addicted to sex and makes choices that threaten to ruin his relationships.

Nobody is likable in the word Behl has crafted. They all are responsible for the repercussions of the choices that they have made. And all questionable. Rahul Roy, who rose to fame right after that sensational debut Aashiqui, plays a worn out husband whose frail body language suggests he has seen the miseries of life. He has a wife and the other woman who stay in the same house. He’s eying for a third. Vibha Chibber has a complex role to essay; she’s not torn between her husband and son, but a victim of both of these men’s toxicity and venomous actions. But Agra mostly plays out through the demonic lenses of its protagonist Guru. It’s impossible to root for him. It’s also awkward and uncomfortable to see him drown in his own perverted maneuvers.

Once you are immersed in the world that Kanu Behl has in store for us, you get a sense that the film doesn’t have much to say apart from telling the story of a ticking time bomb that ought to be tamed. His quest for bodily pleasures knows no bounds that leads to an incestuous attack on his own sister. It’s only after this scene that the volcanic eruptions and explosions become extinct. The one thing that stands out in Agra is how unhurried the plot is, but it also sometimes works against the film. That how things gradually happen. There are instances when the narrative drags its feet. It could all be intentional to show how change takes time. It’s not easy to subdue a reckless maniac who wanks even while chatting with women on a dating app. Guru then forms a bond with a woman (a haunting Priyanka Bose) working in a cyber cafe. The songs playing in the background on two different occasions are that of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Aashiqui. This is Behl’s style to create an essence of nostalgia after attacking us with copious nauseating graphics.

He offers no easy answers either. What he does offer are some visceral and blistering visuals of two people forming a rough, raunchy, and physical rendezvous that later blooms into marriage. This is a family that wishes to build a new house even when the home is collapsing. And given how hideously their destinies are intertwined, you expect the unexpected calamity to strike them here too. But the man behind the lenses finally offers a surprise and this is the only time when we see these wrecked people smiling. Finally they have their day after endless nights of nightmares and suffering.

Agra can never be an easy watch. It’s not supposed to be either. Behl attacks you with a film that jolts you with discomfort. It leaves you with an overwhelming sense of anguish with a minute respite as the film reaches its finish line. You are pitied and pained by what you see, and after a point, leave it to them to write their own fortunes. The family finally comes together, but you keep questioning what if fate deals a cruel hand again. What if they make questionable choices again? But as stated, Behl will never give easy answers.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Agra is now playing in cinemas