Movie Review: The Hungry (2017) is a slow burn best suited for the online platform
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Neeraj Kabi, Tisca Chopra, Savita Rani, Sayani Gupta
Director: Bornila Chatterjee
Rating: 3/5
Let’s get something out of the way first: Yes, this film was released in 2017, and yes, I have finally gotten around to watching it in 2019. That is the reason why this review is so delayed.
The Hungry makes no pretences about being an adaptation of Titus Andronicus — perhaps one of the most vilified plays written by William Shakespeare because of its gore and violence, and the difficulty producers might have had to face when portraying it on screen.
The names from the play have mostly retained their initials in the 2017 film, with a few characters not appearing at all. Of the new additions, one really catches your eye. But we shall come to that later.
First, the story. Tathagat Ahuja (Naseeruddin Shah) and Tulsi Joshi (Tisca Chopra) run a business empire, where the latter’s family is the majority shareholder.
Tulsi is about to get married to her boy-toy — Tathagat’s son Sunny — in a wedding in a regal location somewhere in North India, which brings together the entire cast of characters, including Tathagat himself, who has been just released from prison and is being escorted there by his Man Friday Arun Kumar (Neeraj Kabi). And each of them has a hidden agenda.
Shakespeare’s original play itself had a convoluted plot. Director Bornila Chatterjee managed to make it a little simpler by cutting out the backstory when co-writing the screenplay with Kurban Kassam and Bengali actor-producer Tanaji Dasgupta.
However, Chatterjee retained some of the complexity of the plot by opting for non-linear storytelling, which was not very difficult to follow here.
The actors seem mostly in form, some more so than others. Some tight shots of the face combined by the lack of background music made for interesting viewing, with the onus solely on the actors to stir emotions in the viewers’ mind.
Naseeruddin Shah seems like he can do no wrong. Tisca Chopra and Neeraj Kabi are measured. Jayant Kripalani lets his class shine in the small role he gets. Sayani Gupta shows a dark streak that can make her memorable in the hands of an apt director with a suitable story.
The true acting revelation, however, is one Savita Rani, who according to IMDB has no major film credit. Her turn as Meena, the steely, faithful and mostly silent maid to Tathagat, leaves a lasting impression.
And then there are the aspects of the film that let it down, primary of them being the assumption that you have read Titus Andronicus. For example, who exactly is Arun Kumar, what are his motivations, or what exactly happened to Sayani Gupta’s character that led to her ordeal?
To be honest, Bornila Chatterjee produces a slow-burning film that is best watched on a slow afternoon when the siesta plays hooky, like I did on Amazon Prime.
She shows potential for bigger projects, but she needs to fine-tune her work a little more before she can deliver a compulsive entertainer — and now, I am not talking of the potboiler kind.
Here’s the trailer of the film:
