Institute History
Description
When writing on a film from a country with a strong cinema culture, it is tempting to compare it with past masters or predict it will hearken a renaissance. However, The Terrorist is unique; respectful of India’s cinematic icons, it then breaks both from sensationalism and sentimentalism. With the poeticism that marks Indian cinema, symbols which define the protagonists emotions—the sound of water, a tear, a touch, a flowering tree—acquire remarkable resonance as our hero is identified as a suicide bomber marching toward the end of her young life.
Director Samosh Sivan, deeply affected by the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, decided to focus on the formation of a suicide bomber. Portrayed by the astonishing young actress Ayesha Dharkar, Malli has spent much of her nineteen years in revolutionary training. A hardened killer, she interviews for (an amazing sequence) and wins the coveted bomber position. However, the path to the
VIP’s assassination allows her to contemplate her own emotions for the first time. Those shemeets affect her in a new way; in meditation she reflects on a moment of true love; contemplating her future, she is caught within a psychological divide.
The film is awash with sensuality. Sivan, also an award-winning cinematographer, mutes his color scheme to simulate a rich cyanotype. Often the only sound we hear is Malli’s breath. And close-ups of her face, humid with the pain of emotional awakening, documented by the photographer capturing the look of modern martyrdom, remain with us long after the film’s end.
Santosh Sivan, Director
Santosh Sivan was born in Chennai, India. While attending the renowned Film and Television Institute of India, he shot many documentaries and received the gold medal for cinematography at graduation. Since then, he has been cinematographer on more than forty films and has won nine national awards. He has also won national directing awards for Halo and The Terrorist, which is his first feature film.