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Introduction
Ahalya is based on a mythological incident. Lord Indra once changed his appearance, to look like Gautama Maharishi. He then makes love to Ahalya, the sage’s beautiful wife. It is believed that Ahalya knew that the person making love to her was not her husband and yet she succumbed to carnal pleasure. Gautama Maharishi catches them red handed. He curses both; while some scriptures say that Ahalya was turned into a stone, a few contradict this theory saying that she was cursed to remain invisible to all beings for thousands of years.
Synopsis
Ahalya – The story of the film is quite similar only the characters have different aspirations.
Police officer Indra visits Goutam Sadhu’s ( Soumitra Chatterjee ) house to enquire about a missing case. He knocks on the door and is welcomed by Ahalya ( Radhika Aapte ) looking absolutely sensual is the off-white short dress. She takes him to the upper floor, which is like a living-cum-study room full of paintings and caricatures.
After all Goutam Sadhu is a renowned artist. Before Ahalya can start the conversation one of the caricatures falls off the mantel / sideboard. Ahalya reprimands the dolls, speaking with them as if they were human beings. She tells Inspector Indra that every time a new guest visits their house a doll falls off; she then walks away to fetch Goutam Sadhu.
Inspector Indra is attracted to one of the caricatures. The resemblance with Arjun, the missing person is uncanny.
Moments later, Goutam Sadhu enters the room while Ahalya tags along. Indra questions about Arjun, the missing person and also remarks that one of the caricatures looks exactly like him. Goutam Sadhu says that Arjun had come to his house a few days back for a modeling assignment and that was the last time he saw him. Inspector Indra says Arjun has been missing since that day. Goutam Sadhu says he expected something awful would happen. When questioned, he says that Arjun was after his precious stone which has magical powers. Inspector Indra rubbishes the claim and asks him to come along to the station because he feels that Goutam Sadhu is lying.
However, Goutam Sadhu continues to convince Inspector Indra that the stone can change a human being into different avatars / person depending on the holder’s wish. When Inspector Indra gets angry, Goutam Sadhu gives him the stone and asks him to try.
Watch the film to know the fate of Inspector Indra.
Analysis
It is extremely rare to see a short film which has the right balance of all the elements. Ahalya is one of them. The dialogs are like absolute music to ears, the diction impeccable while the direction is spot on. Radhika Aapte has once again proved that she has immense potential but rarely exploited for the same. Soumitra Chatterjee is always a joy to watch, especially when he plays an important role.
Year of Release – 2015 | Director – Sujoy Ghosh | Screenplay – | Running Time – 14 Minutes | Availability – YouTube – LargeShotFilms