Review of The Underbug: A depressing, eerie examination of the price of racial conflict

• Shujaat Saudagar’s The Underbug bagged the Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize.
• The psychological thriller takes place over the course of one day, on the eve of Indian Independence Day.
• Each mechanism the film offers tends to eschew towards the dark chapter of communal violence.

Violence is not subtle in any way. It is intended to be frightening and is bloody and nasty. Characters frequently discuss murder and the continued oppression of the Indian Muslim population in Shujaat Saudagar’s The Underbug, which had its Slamdance debut and won the Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize. The psychological thriller also spans the length of a single day, specifically the night before India’s Independence Day. During this time, the radio frequently focuses on a live broadcast in which people from all over the nation are asked about their personal definitions of freedom. The dark chapter of communal violence, which is sweeping the nation like an epidemic, is avoided by every device the movie proposes. That fear cannot be avoided.

With The Underbug’s opening moments, this restlessness and paranoia quickly take hold. A man approaches an abandoned home that is completely engulfed in the woodland with caution. Blood had stained his clothing. The man (Hussain Dalal) starts to realize that the house is absolutely deserted as the camera steadily moves closer. The bedroom is a mess, and the hallway is covered in blood stains. After a while, Ali Fazal, a wounded stranger, is presented, and Dalal’s character initially tries to shoo him away before realizing that it is actually his home.

The Underbug then develops into a psychological drama as the two men admit to being rioters and try to determine whether each other is Hindu or Muslim. Muslims are being massacred outside as a result of the racial unrest, with entire families being murdered all at once. The sound of anklets is also becoming more and more unnerving to the men inside, who are also scared that someone else is watching them from within the house.

The political undertone of The Underbug serves as the main source of fear. The genre’s conventions—dark interiors, an abandoned home, and blood on the floor—additionally heighten the tension. It takes some time for the gloom of The Underbug to sink in, but as it does, the extended dining table sequence when both protagonists share lamb biryani grows more tense. In order to address the socio-cultural signifiers of meat consumption, Dalal, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Abbas Dalal and Saudagar, carefully crafts the wordplay. One prefers pickles, while the other eats it with raita (a spiced yogurt mixture). Who are the scapegoats in the end?

The Underbug is continuously boosted by its technical excellence, which gives the movie a striking sense of immediacy, even when the story suffers a little in the second half. The editing of Tushar Parekh greatly aids the DoP Tassadaq Hussain’s attempt to convey the desperation and anxiousness through a combination of close-ups and hand-held camera movements. Even Nitin Gaikwad’s minimalistic predictive design avoids going beyond in an attempt to overdo the gory details. With a hint of sadness, it develops The Underbug’s dark, brooding atmosphere. The presence of Dalal and Fazal, who both provide real, committed performances that could have easily devolved into ridiculous caricatures, is ultimately what makes the movie work.

Hussain Dalal portrays a man who is at conflict with himself by adding dollops of agony to the part. The truly disturbing performance comes from Ali Fazal, who skillfully uses his physicality to convey the underlying loss of control as the movie moves toward its unsettling conclusion.

Even though the conclusion becomes a little obvious by the end, Saudagar maintains a tight control over the action to avoid any theatrical scenes. The Underbug’s genuine earnestness and immediate response to provocation are admirable, despite the fact that the movie frequently draws attention to the director’s metaphorical choices. The more one tries to get used to The Underbug’s stern self-awareness, the more it advances. It succeeds in its goal of shaking you.

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