Vimal
is sort of like Bob Hoskins in Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa, except he doesn’t know it yet. The Mumbai cabbie thinks
he is just shuttling his old grade school sweetheart to and from her work in
various hotels throughout the city. Eventually, he will lose his innocence just
like the title character of Selvamani Selvaraj’s Nila (trailer
here),
which screens as part of the 2016 New York Indian Film Festival.
It
rains quite regularly in Mubai (or Bombay, which the B in the BTS taxi service probably
still stands for), but Nila usually has no problem getting a cab. Vimal is usually
there waiting for her. She briefly attended his provincial school, where she
made a lasting impression on the poor but earnest lad. Unfortunately, her
wealthy parents moved back to the city before the end of term. Perhaps they
shouldn’t have, because it is all too clear Nila has experienced a drastic
reversal of fortune.
To
survive, Nila now must work a profession—the oldest one. However, Vimal only
sees her as the innocent beauty of his youth. Nila also starts to appreciate
having someone treat her as she once was, even though she fully understands it
is not sustainable. Eventually, he will realize the truth, which is likely to
hurt them both very badly.
Nila (meaning Moon) is
follows the path less taken in film noir, steeping its characters in nocturnal
moodiness, but eschewing an outright thriller narrative. However, the stakes
are still quite high. Frankly, we can all guess precisely where it is headed,
but Selvaraj still packs a devastating emotional wallop when they get there.
Of
course, he gets key assists from his co-leads in what essentially amounts to a
two-hander. As Vimal, Vicky R covers just about the entire gamut of expression,
from elation to desolation and on to rage. Yet, Sruthi Hariharan is even more
devastating as the dignified yet self-loathing Nila. You can tell from her eyes
how much life has happened to her character. Many of their scenes together are
painful to watch, but in a good, in-touch-with-the-human-condition sort of way.