The horror series, Ghoul, set in a dystopian time to come, is a commentary on the political atmosphere, says Saimi Sattar
Very early on in Ghoul, the second of Netflix original shows, Colonel Sunil Dacunha, a celebrated war hero, played by Manav Kaul, says, “Intellectuals are difficult. It takes time to make them ideal citizens (adarsh nagrik).” And it is these dialogues coupled with words that we often hear while keeping abreast of the current political situation which make us wonder if the series is set in contemporary times rather than “sometime in the future” which it professes at the very beginningij Or is it an alter universe of watchdog regimes across the globeij
Ghoul hit home especially in a week when #Urbannaxal is trending — for a reason. So words like “beef”, “brain-washed”, “anti-national” “intellectual” “nationalism” “waapsi (return),” which pepper the conversations among the lead characters as well as the minor ones, had a contextual resonance and presented real life masquerading as the dystopian future in the reel where the society is deeply divided on “sectarian lines”. Exhortations like “Terrorists are among us. Be vigilant,” are written almost as road signs. Books are considered sacrilegious and burnt and “protection squads” man the city day and night and “thinking” is akin to “sedition”.
Ghoul, the three- part series, was touted as a horror fest, a genre that usually degenerates into a gory tale of spilled blood and tangled limbs, which this one too does rather graphically and viscerally towards the end. Frankly, the zombie cinematic trope we have seen enough of. But it is the brave political political statement that has us in thrall.
Nida Rahim, played by Radhika Apte, uses her eyes and expressive face to convey a range of emotions which are an adequate response to the flood of memes on social media about her frequency of appearance on Netflix.
As the new recruit at Meghdoot 31, the interrogation cum torture chamber which can be considered akin to Guantanamo Bay, she is treated with suspicion by lieutenant laxmi Das played by Ratnabali Bhattacharjee on account of her religion. This despite the fact that she has reported her father Shanawaz Rahim, a professor, ably played by SM Zaheer, on account of his seditious thoughts and exhortations to his students “to think and question the government.” The idea that country is above family has been drilled into her so much that Nida sincerely believes that it is for her father’s good that he must be coached to be a good citizen.
As the fallacy of “good Muslim” and “bad Muslim” is played out, much like good cop vs bad cop. Ghoul makes it a point to convey that for some, even the former cannot be above suspicion or loyal to the country because of her “Muslimness.”
Unlike the sudden camera movements or a jerky music build-up that most horror movies and serials rely upon, it is the entire atmosphere of Meghdoot 31 — dank and dark where even the hint of sunlight cannot make its way — that provides the chills. Blacks, browns, greys are the wall colours and the occasional reds come from the blood spills. Much like in computer games.
Every frame by Jay Oza, the cameraperson, brings the atmosphere alive — you can almost smell the damp stench, you recoil within yourself at the sight of blood and you can almost feel the crunch of the bones during fisticuffs.
While Apte is stellar, it is Bhattacharjee whose body language conveys her distrust of Muslims. Her swagger and her talk about “nightmares mujhe relax kar dete hain” or “I torture women” invest the character of laxmi Das with a certain fullness rather than being reduced to a caricature.
Then there is Mahesh Balraj as Ali Saeed, who barely speaks but whose chilling and unfathomable eyes are enough to give you the shivers.
The storyline unfolds when a dreaded terrorist (Balraj) is captured and brought to Meghdoot 31. The task is to make him confess to his crimes, almost at the same time as Nida joins the place and things start to grow awry. It is not long before both Nida and Dacunha realise that Ali, the terrorist, is privy to more information than a human is capable of. Gradually, soldiers turn against each other and the bodies pile up. It is not long before that initially Nida and later the rest realise that it’s a shape-shifting ghoul that has taken over the place that preys on the guilt of the soldiers as well as their flesh. As the story progresses and people start dropping dead, the question that looms up is — who is the real ghoulij Is it the one killing the soldiers or is it a manifestation of themselves as they have preyed on many innocentsij
Without giving away the spoiler, it ended with enough of a twist to make the second season much-awaited for. Of course, the question that goes abegging is will the real have a second season as wellij