Agra
A brazen and bold movie about a lonely, self-pitying twentysomething call center employee, still stuck at home with his family (plus his dad’s mistress), as he struggles for sexual and spatial independence amid a society that overemphasizes masculine stereotypes.
Guru is frustrated. Single and living with his parents and his father’s mistress, he finds his sexual urges increasingly unbearable by the lack of personal space. He wants to convert the terrace level of the family home into a private room for himself and his imaginary girlfriend. However, his father and his mistress have their own designs for the terrace. So does Guru's mother, who’s pledged the space to her niece to establish a dental clinic, a potential income source for the family. This clash of ambitions, along with a radioactive mix of sexual compulsions, mental health issues, and constrained economic options, threatens the fragile family dynamics. Newcomer Mojit Agawal’s portrayal of the tightly wound, delusional Guru takes a compelling turn when he begins to date Priti (Priyanka Bose), a self-assured widow with a physical disability. Will Priti's presence serve as a catalyst for Guru's explosive breakdown, or will she be the coolant to this troubled family? Kanu Behl's Agra premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 2023, garnering a five-minute standing ovation for its unflinching exploration of patriarchal norms and the corrosive effects of male sexual repression within the struggling middle class.
- Director: Kanu Behl
- Principal Cast: Mohit Agarwal, Vibha Chibber, Rahul Roy, Sonal Jha, Ruhani Sharma
- Country: India, France
- Year: 2023
- Running Time: 132 min.
- Producer: Vikram Mehra, William Jehannin, Siddharth Anand Kumar, Kanu Behl
- Screenplay: Atika Chohan, Kanu Behl
- Cinematographers: Saurabh Monga
- Editors: Samarth Dixit
- Music: Karan Gour
- Filmography: Binnu Ka Sapna (2019), Titli (2014)
- Language: Hindi
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: Pascale Ramonda