Director: A.K. Bir; Writer: A.K. Bir; Producer: A.K. Bir; Cinematographer: A.K. Bir; Cast: Sarat Pujari, Navni Parihar, Mohan Gokhale, Sanjana Kapoor, Laltendu Rath, Subroto Mahapatra, Sunil Singh
Duration: 01:23:40; Aspect Ratio: 1.857:1; Hue: 51.727; Saturation: 0.254; Lightness: 0.187; Volume: 0.095; Cuts per Minute: 8.521
Summary: The Raja Saheb, played by the noted Oriya
actor Pujari, embarks on a hunting expedition
in cannibal country accompanied by an
anglophile businessman (Gokhale), his
hysterical wife (Parihar), an Army Major (Singh)
and his English wife (Kapoor). The two males
are attracted to each other’s wives. The only
outsider to the culture of feudal-upper class
hedonism is the Raja’s adopted tribal son, who
represents the land that the cultural elite set out
to conquer and who is regarded by them
variously as a wild sex-object, hunter and slave.
The hysterical wife seduces and then claims to
have been raped by the tribal, who is chained
and tortured. An orgiastic feast follows as the
group eat what they imagine to be the wild
boar shot during the hunt. They discover the
next day that the meat was the tribal’s body.
This discovery is left deliberately ambiguous
(unlike in the novel), allowing for several
interpretations. The film is noted mainly for
Bir’s stunning camerawork, enhancing the
elements of fable and allegory.
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