In May 1991 Rajiv Gandhi was then campaigning as Prime Minister. He went to address the public in South India in the state of Tamil Nadu and there he was assassinated by a suicide bomber. The bomber was a girl called Dhanu. Dhanu was a cousin of Shivarasan, the supposed mastermind of the assassination. When Santosh Sivan, a well know cinematographer wanted to make a film on terrorism and a terrorist, he chose the above events to film his story. And he made a wonderful movie. While many movies try to focus on why a person became a terrorist, this one did not. It was assumed that the terrorists were there.
The story is simple. Malli, a terrorist, is chosen to be a suicide bomber to blow up an important leader. She comes from a family of people who are fighting for their freedom. In her journey she meets many people. A lover, who she met when she saved his life and who later died; a young boy named Surya alias Lotus who dies, a farmer, Vasu and his family. In her journey somewhere, she realizes the importance of emotions and love.
Malli's leader passes her of as his cousin and she goes to stay with a farmer in a village. The farmer's son is not there and thus a room is vacant. Slowly the viewer realizes why the room is empty. Malli rehearses for the final day and then...........
The film is not at all a biography of Dhanu the suicide bomber. Dhanu was never nervous. She had a whole troupe working with her and when she went on with her mission she had a lot of backup in case she failed. The film here is a story of a human being who had become a terrorist who realizes what it is to be human. The film burns with a tense, bloody power there's no denying this is one of the most visually stirring films to come out of the massive Indian film community in years, but the interplay of the beauty and terror clash perhaps too often and leave the viewer wondering why (this is possibly the film's point, though it seems muddled, the tension diluted). John Malkovich, who has been trumpeting the film's praises since he first saw it at a screening during the 1998 Cairo International Film Festival, has come on board as a sort of post-facto executive producer (The Terrorist's titles read "John Malkovich Presents"). It's clear from Malkovich's lengthy article in The New York Times sometime back that he considers the film to be a masterpiece (he says as much), and to a degree it is. Shot in 15 days, with natural lighting, on a budget of $50,000, and using a variety of non-actors, the film is a marvel to behold (at least visually). Incidentally acting in Malli (Terrorist) got Ayesha Dharker, the girl who plays Malli, her role in Star Wars-Episode II. Episode II Casting Director Robin Gurland was completing casting in New York when she read the article in the New York Times by John Malkovich describing Dharker's performance in The Terrorist, a small film he saw at the Cairo Film Festival. "He praised both the film and Ayesha's performance," said Gurland, "but unfortunately I couldn't catch the film before I left New York. By chance Sam Jackson was filming Shaft in town and I stopped by the set to say hello. We started talking about films and as luck had it, Sam had just received a videotape of the movie. I borrowed the tape and was mesmerized by her performance. Fortunately, I was able to track her down and Ayesha and I met in London."
The story is simple. Malli, a terrorist, is chosen to be a suicide bomber to blow up an important leader. She comes from a family of people who are fighting for their freedom. In her journey she meets many people. A lover, who she met when she saved his life and who later died; a young boy named Surya alias Lotus who dies, a farmer, Vasu and his family. In her journey somewhere, she realizes the importance of emotions and love.
Malli's leader passes her of as his cousin and she goes to stay with a farmer in a village. The farmer's son is not there and thus a room is vacant. Slowly the viewer realizes why the room is empty. Malli rehearses for the final day and then...........
The film is not at all a biography of Dhanu the suicide bomber. Dhanu was never nervous. She had a whole troupe working with her and when she went on with her mission she had a lot of backup in case she failed. The film here is a story of a human being who had become a terrorist who realizes what it is to be human. The film burns with a tense, bloody power there's no denying this is one of the most visually stirring films to come out of the massive Indian film community in years, but the interplay of the beauty and terror clash perhaps too often and leave the viewer wondering why (this is possibly the film's point, though it seems muddled, the tension diluted). John Malkovich, who has been trumpeting the film's praises since he first saw it at a screening during the 1998 Cairo International Film Festival, has come on board as a sort of post-facto executive producer (The Terrorist's titles read "John Malkovich Presents"). It's clear from Malkovich's lengthy article in The New York Times sometime back that he considers the film to be a masterpiece (he says as much), and to a degree it is. Shot in 15 days, with natural lighting, on a budget of $50,000, and using a variety of non-actors, the film is a marvel to behold (at least visually). Incidentally acting in Malli (Terrorist) got Ayesha Dharker, the girl who plays Malli, her role in Star Wars-Episode II. Episode II Casting Director Robin Gurland was completing casting in New York when she read the article in the New York Times by John Malkovich describing Dharker's performance in The Terrorist, a small film he saw at the Cairo Film Festival. "He praised both the film and Ayesha's performance," said Gurland, "but unfortunately I couldn't catch the film before I left New York. By chance Sam Jackson was filming Shaft in town and I stopped by the set to say hello. We started talking about films and as luck had it, Sam had just received a videotape of the movie. I borrowed the tape and was mesmerized by her performance. Fortunately, I was able to track her down and Ayesha and I met in London."