Aamis: An unexpected movie review

Aamis: Meat, as simple as that. The movie is not.

This latest Assamese movie by Bhaskar Hazarika will surely blow your mind.

Set in Guwahati, Aamis takes off like a sweet happy ride, only until you suddenly realize that it is not what you were expecting. The movie revolves around a PhD scholar Sumon and a married woman Nirmali (doctor by profession) who begin to bond over interesting and exotic food recipes. Sumon is conducting his research on food eating habits of north-eastern India and is immediately attracted to Nirmali. Nirmali, while being committed to marriage is also drawn towards Sumon as she is alone most days of the month, her husband being on the field (he works for an NGO and thinks highly of himself for the same) for the most part.

Things start to get uncomfortable when both of them realize that they are getting close and it does not seem morally right. The sexual tension grows stronger and they both seem helpless. Sumon keeps fantasizing about her (this also gives us one of the most classic scenes of the movie) and one day gets this idea of accomplishing the forbidden, without having to do it literally. (The details are not being shared here, for they are spoilers). This idea is the central theme of the film.

The director craftily blends in lust, hunger and violence in this dark cinematic experiment that you are drawn into it and disgusted at the same time. While the ending of the movie seems a bit safer, this is surely a must watch for movie lovers. Anurag Kashyap was right. We haven't seen anything like this before, at least from the Indian movie industry.

PS. The movie is titled Ravening in English. I don't thing you would want to eat anything right after the movie.

(This review was originally posted in a blog- questmoviereviews.blogspot.com by the same author)