FANTASIA 2020: Kriya
fantasiaDeath is a universal experience that affects every culture and group which makes it an easy vehicle for tension and emotional catharsis within film. Streaming as part of the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival, Sidharth Srinivasan's sophomore feature Kriya uses this logic as it follows a young man named Neel (Noble Luke) returning home from the club with a young girl named Sitara (Navjot Randhawa) only to find himself in the middle of a bizarre and haunting death ceremony put on by her family.
On the basic level, this formula predictably works for the film when it comes to creating a sense of uncomfortableness and tension. Not only are the strong emotions that come from death off-putting to see from an outsider's perspective, but the film has some really strong visuals as Neel is haunted by strange visuals himself. It is impossible not to watch the film and not immediately want out of the situation in the best of ways for what the film is trying to achieve as a psychological thriller. A lot of this tension must be accredited to the performances of the film. Not only is Noble Luke fantastic as the troubled outsider trying desperately to hold onto the tiny amount of control he has in the situation, but Sitara's entire family is incredible. In their grief are flashes of anger, fear, sadness, and confusion that plays off as incredibly natural and authentic.
The actual technical elements of the film are also plenty impressive on their own. The production design from Aarzoo Ali is the perfect mixture of real everyday life and uncanny spiritual visuals while the cinematography from Lakshman Anand and Karan Thapliyal is stunning and does so much to add to the tension the entire film experiences. The music from Jim Williams also is an easy standout from the film standing out as perfectly unique from most scores in recent memory.
Where these fundamental elements of the film work wonders, there are clear flaws within the screenplay which sadly holds the film back from being a masterpiece. Where every character fits the role that they need to play when it comes to the dynamics within the film, it doesn't feel like the film does a great job at letting the audience get to know them as characters. Because of this, it felt hard to engage with their personal journeys on a personal level. The film also is quite slow at times and drags in the middle section as the initial chaos of being thrown into this situation wears off and the film is holding plenty of its cards for the end stretch.
Kriya is an absolute success when it comes to tone and atmosphere but sadly doesn't quite reach the next level of being a truly captivating viewing experience. Where it would be wrong to advise audiences to keep their distance from the film, it also would be ingenuine to say that it was a mandatory viewing experience when plenty of films also achieve an unsettling atmosphere while also creating a truly engaging film with solid characters such as The Lodge from earlier this year.
