After his last film Kahaani, Sujoy Ghosh’s new Bengali short film Ahalya is based on the story of a character in Hindu mythology of the same name. In Indian mythology, Ahalya is known to be the creation of Lord Brahma. Myth has it that Ahalya was the most beautiful woman in the world. However, she was cursed by her husband, an old sage called Gautama for infidelity.

Right from the time, Ahalya (the gorgeous and talented Radhika Apte) opens the door for Inspector Indra Sen (Tota Roy Chowdhury), a cloud of mystery and intrigue shroud the viewer’s mind. Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh’s short film, a part of the Large Short Film campaign’, grips the viewer from the word go and never lets you slip away throughout its fifteen minute run time.

Sujoy Ghosh’s New Short Film based on the story of a character in Hindu mythology:

In the Ramayana, Ahalya is Brahma’s most beautiful creation bestowed upon the righteous Gauthama Sadhu. The king of gods – Indra – is jealous of Gauthama and in his envy, he uses his magical powers to seduce Ahalya by taking Gauthama’s form. Gauthama catches Ahalya and Indra in the act and curses his wife. Ahalya is condemned to an eternity of being trapped in a stone sculpture and invisible to all. Ahalya is eventually relieved from her punishment by Lord Ram.

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You can trust Ghosh to take an age old myth and give it a thrilling, modern twist. In his short, Radhika Apte plays the role of Ahalya, the young and beautiful wife of a famous, aging artist (played by the veteran Soumitra Chatterjee).
The film begins to pick pace when a young policeman (Tota Roy Chowdhury) enters their home to question them about a missing man.

Sujoy Ghosh’s Brilliant Short Film Featuring Radhika Apte Will Give You Goosebumps:

It starts to get spooky, when you are shown that a doll-version of the missing person is standing on the couple’s mantelpiece, along with 5-6 other dolls. But before you can even try to come to your own conclusions, the gripping plot takes you along with it.

What follows is and edgy, spooky unraveling of events. Apte’s acting gives away that the film is not as one-dimensional as it seems in the first 5 minutes.

Chatterjee plays the perfect foil to Apte, by being the weird old man but also holding your interest right till the final reveal. That’s exactly how we feel. Watch Sujoy Ghosh’s Ahalya  here:

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Crisp editing and brilliant acting makes the short film a creepy, almost scary affair yet something that you are compelled to watch till the end. Radhika Apte perfectly speaks in Bengali and transforms herself into this mythical, sensual beauty while veteran Soumitra Chatterjee adapts to his affable, friendly yet mysterious Gautam Sadhu brilliantly.

Ghosh’s edge of the seat thriller may just be fifteen minutes long, but the filmmaker leaves so many questions which haunt you much later after the film gets over.