Starring: Richa Chadda, Sanjai Mishra, Vicky Kaushal and others
Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan
Rating: ***
Devi Pathak (Chadda) is the daughter of a low-income, well-respected and upright priest who works on the burning ghats or ‘masaans’ of Varanasi. Like most young women of small-town India, she is net-savvy and works at a computer centre, uninhibited and takes her rights for granted, without being in-your-face about it. So she thinks nothing of checking into a seedy hotel with a male colleague—guiding the shy, slightly awkward young man into bed—as they satiate their ‘curiosity’ about sex. Except that a predatory society will not let them. Possibly tipped off by the receptionist at the counter, the police break in, pretend they’re cracking down on prostitution rackets, beat up the lovers and videotape...
