Kanu Behl’s new film Agra is not for the faint-hearted. If Titli, Behl’s debut feature, was an unsettling exploration of a dysfunctional family, Agra fearlessly goes deep down the rabbit hole.
Agra was premiered in the Director’s Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival (Titli made its debut at the festival too in 2014). The Hindi-language movie, written by Behl and Atika Chohan, is a psychological portrait of a seemingly deranged but scarily normal 24-year-old man.
Guru (Mohit Agarwal) is gripped by intense sexual repression. His domestic set-up fuels his frustration. The house has a father who lives with his second wife on the terrace, a mother who is unable to escape her situation, and an ambitious cousin. Guru’s life takes a turn when he meets Priti (Priyanka Bose) at an internet cafe.
The cast includes Rahul Roy and Vibha Chibber as Guru’s parents, Sonal Jha as the second wife, and Aanchal Goswami as Guru’s cousin. Produced by Yoodlee Films and O28 Films, Agra confirms the willingness of Behl and his team to embrace the extremities of human nature, however shocking they might be.
Guru’s obsession with the fate of his house suggests a twisted version of Bhimsain’s Gharonda, in which the quest to own an apartment in Mumbai drives a wedge between lovers. In Agra, Guru’s fractured mind…
