It’s not like Anubhav Sinha is making a social drama for the first time. In the last 9 years, the persevering filmmaker has rebuilt his career on these grounds, with films like Mulk, Thappad, and Article 15. However, while the audience (and the market) for the genre has only shrunk in last few years, it seems the barriers have only made the filmmaker more determined in his intent to make a dent, and that sense of urgency runs throughout Assi as an undercurrent. 

Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Kani Kusruthi, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Revathy

Director: Anubhav Sinha

Written by: Gaurav Solanki, Anubhav Sinha

Assi has no respite. It jumps right into an emotion instead of easing us into fright; it doesn’t have the luxury of waiting to build an atmosphere.  Even as it goes back to trace the footsteps to its triggering incident, there is a discordant energy to the montage. As we are introduced to each of those characters in the first act, there is a deliberate jumpiness to the edit — we are never allowed to settle.  The use of bold red text cards is urgent and strangely poetic (Dhurandhar released merely 10 weeks ago) — it calls for your attention, because there is no other way to grab us anymore. It also speaks to times when we are tuned to consuming two screens at once. Assi is screaming at us, and has no qualms when caught in the act. The 20-minute timely reminder (which also alludes to the film’s title) could border on repetitive, unoriginal, and preachy, But Anubhav Sinha goes all out to hammer his point home. 

And while it may want to grab us by our collars, Assi is always confident in its craft and use of style. That walkie-talkie receiver that stands tall and alone on a deserted desk, the use of veil as the accused are taken to the court the first time. There is a very consciously sparse use of background score, where you are compelled to dwell on the dialogue, which is a choice that only makes you more uncomfortable because you are now listening to every question that stems from these introspective conversations. 

Screenwriters Gaurav Solanki and Anubhav are attempting to reinvent the art-form itself, where a script is subtle, bludgeoning, poetic and verbose, all at once. Take, for instance, the visual of a funeral-like setting as Parima’s (Kani Kusruti) distant relatives pay her a visit. There are so many small touches that stay with you: the ‘Fevicol Se’ song played at a family function, the fleeting visual of boys bathing openly as Raavi walks by, Vinay’s son sitting besides a man with a shockingly suggestive text on his T-shirt. All of these huge swings could have easily gone wrong, if not for the astute craftsmanship at display. As Raavi walks away from her cop friend, puzzled at how men feel more entitled to express their anger, you can see the film’s accomplishment. Things are said without the narrative becoming entirely about its barrage of statements. It comes together beautifully as a whole, becoming larger than the sum of its pieces. After introducing an element of ‘whodunit,’ the writers are wise enough to solve it soon — a film like this can’t get mired with titillation; there are bigger battles to worry about. Even as Assi comes dangerously close to being too ‘messagey,’ it’s the self-assured screenplay that emerges victorious here, helping the narrative walk the fine line between sermon and conversation.

Assi is as political a film that can be made in present India without the fear of censorship. The closest it comes to making a political statement is with its use of the vigilante subplot. Whether we like to admit or not, we are always looking for easy solutions and reactionary heroes to idolise. Assi reminds us of that in all the discomforting ways. The brilliance of Assi also lies in how it incorporates a young boy into the narrative. Little he does or says makes a difference to the chain of events. He just is part of that universe, every inch as essential, as a malleable observer if not more. It’s for them that a woman like Raavi is striving to create a better world, to undo the damage from a wrong turn this world took a long time ago. 

While the child looks on, Assi creates a real, believable world about the evolving dynamics between men and women as they negotiate for blinding power and dignity, respectively. Anubhav Sinha, without diverting from his core idea, makes space for male guilt in a narrative that’s primarily about the female struggle. The casting and the acting makes things all the more interesting. While Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub plays the male empath figure with a certain distant quality, Taapsee Pannu is happy to take a backseat in a film that essentially drives on her star wattage. The humility makes her performance all the more effective. Meanwhile, Kumud Mishra brings an amazing melancholy to his part, portraying a man with endless guilt and haywire emotionality. There is another complex vigilante figure in a cop who struggles to reconcile with his undermined status in the fight against injustice. Meanwhile, Parima (Kani Kusruti in an impactful performance) struggles to be the perfect victim, still toeing the lines around patriarchy and a legal system that fuels it. This tussle is also why we see a stalwart like Supriya Pathak in a brief cameo, just to make a point about why men owe it to women to live a long life. 

And tying all of these elements in Assi is a sense of tension. The narrative feels like a stray bullet that could hit anyone in its way, causing a whole new chain of terrifying events. It’s unpredictable; we never know which wound it plans to scrape on next. But Assi wants us to heal — for that, the wounds must be addressed. The film ends on one such note — an open wound that may not heal anytime soon. And yet, we hope.