The Hungry is a modern retelling of Titus Andronicus, the Shakespearean tragedy. Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare’s first ever play and is also considered his most gory revenge tragedy. Though it is not considered one of his best pieces of work. Bornila Chatterjee makes a daredevil move in adapting one of the not so famous Shakespearean plays so early in her career. However, the credit goes to her for pulling it off with perfection. Amidst the revelry of New Year party, a horrible incident takes place which shakes everyone up to the core. Ankur, a young, passionate, and ethical businessman, played by Suraj Sharma from the famed Life of Pi, is murdered. His mother Tulsi, played by the very talented and beautiful Tisca Chopra, decides to avenge the unjustified death of her son. The movie jumps two years forward where Tisca Chopra is seen marrying the son of a business tycoon, Naseeruddin Shah. This obviously seems a marriage with an agenda as Naseeruddin Shah had a hand in her son’s murder. Caught in this widespread net of revenge are the younger lot who will have to pay for the sins of their families. What follows is a tale of deceit that claims the loss of innocent lives until no one is left standing. Tisca Chopra’s inaction of a flawed person filled with revenge, remorse, and motherly instincts, who is trying to find a path which even though dark, but not completely deprived of humanity, is absolutely mesmerising. Naseeruddin Shah’s performance of a corrupt businessman who will go to any lengths to get things done his way is undoubtedly breathtaking. Sayani Gupta, Antonio Aakeel, Suraj Sharma, and Neeraj Kabi also give delightful performances. However, it is Nick Cooke who needs to be credited for such a wonderful cinematography that takes the movie to a completely new level. He captures the scenic beauty of the place and encapsulates the gloomy and dismal world of the Ahuja’s and the Joshi’s. The movie which has been screened at several film festivals has gained much critical acclaim. When director Bornila Chatterjee was asked why she chose this particular play to adapt, her response to Times of India was, “For starters, the film came about as in 2015 in London, and they were celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare. They basically decided that they are going to fund one Indian adaptation of a Shakespeare play because India shows tremendous interest in adaptations of Shakespeare plays.” The movie which is available on Amazon Prime Video should be definitely next on your watchlist. Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times Anukriti Mishra [email protected]]]>
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