Aamis

In Aamis (Ravening; English: Meat), the central male character Googles 'platonic love' soon after he admits to himself that he has fallen for an older woman. It is a hint to the type of turn that the relationship between the two characters will then take as the story proceeds, so beautifully it feels like you are having a full-course meal with unlimited supply of your favourite dishes. It paves the way for the genuinely novel plot as the characters find themselves losing self-control and being hypnotized by their own desires. The female character utters how gluttony is not a good thing right at the beginning and that gives another hint to what might ensue, despite the sweet little spark that burgeons between them as director Bhaskar Hazarika puts them into a traditional rink of relationships. The story about a young anthropology scholar and a successful paediatrician who is married, with a kid, is as eccentric as the idea of squeezing a type of bug, oozing all its liquids out, and then munching on it either to satisfy hunger or get an intoxicating trip. But what sets Aamis apart from other romantic stories chafing physical and emotional boundaries between the participants is that it gives you a new definition about platonic love. The concept of sharing one's body with another person takes a new meaning here and one that corroborates that carnivorous makeup of homo sapiens. This Assamese crime drama makes the normal likable characters explore the various possibilities that the idea of 'edible meat' brings to their table as well as their palate whether it is trying out bat meat or avoiding broiler chicken for organic alternatives. The enterprising cast of Lima Das (beautiful and so emotive) and Arghadeep Baruah (with a dovelike performance) push the movie forward and make it far more delightful than it actually is, often shooting bulbs of original humour at you. With themes such as acute carnivory, illicit love affairs, societal dogma, and psychosis forming the bizarre story and making you think about your own eating habits as well as the relationship with your loved ones, Aamis makes you feel like life is, after all, absurd. But not as absurd or obnoxious or outlandish as the things that happen in the final 30 minutes of this film that is hard to describe without using up all the synonyms for the word 'bizarre'. It is nothing like you have ever seen before in Indian cinema. But vegans, strict vegetarians (lots of sequences involving meat-based foods but no violence or gore), and environmentalists are cautioned that they should go in with an open mind. But go in they should for this is about more than the love for meat-eating. TN.

(Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.)

Once in a bluemoon do we get to witness art in a form so rare and raw that it strikes the exact chords in your heart where it rings. Aamis is a chilling tale of two ordinary people with ordinary lives who ordinarily bumps into one another leading to yet another ordinary start of a ordinary affair which results in an extraordinary tale of love, lust, longing and life. The story of a beautiful lady in her late thirties, who is a doctor by profession and a caring mother and a doting wife in her personal life developing a baffling chemistry with a young PhD student doing research in meat eating habits of people in Northeast India. What starts as a sweet attraction and an innocent bond over the love of food turns into a dangerous and spine chilling addiction of bizarre kind. With both the leads playing along effortlessly, the movie takes you from what seems like a pleasant dive into calm waters to a twisted lunge into deeper and darker depths that takes the meaning of platonic love to a whole new level. A quality film in all aspects, Aamis blends the flavors of drama, romance, suspense and psychological thriller into the perfect two hours of entertainment that leaves you wanting for more at the end. Sadistically sophisticated, this is a must see for all adventurous movie aficionados who loves to explore the unconventional, defying- the-norms forms of Indian cinema.

There are movies which follow the popular trend and whose story can be easily predicted and there there are those movies which break the stereotyping and give the audience absolutely a new kind of taste. Amis falls firmly in the second category. With a story that gives a weird definition to love, Aamis will haunt you for many hours after you leave the theater. The only complain I have is that the ending could have been a bit different . I mean a 'wanting for more' kinda ending would have been a perfect desert (at least for me).

I do not understand Assamese language. I wasn't even aware they had a film industry there. Got a few recommendations on YouTube and I rented this movie online just to give it a try. I was blown away by the unusual story line. The movie whichs initially starts as a new found friendship between a young research scholar and a married doctor, turns into an intriguing discovery of their shared love for food. Sometimes, there is a very thin line between doing something we love and doing something that's wrong. The movie shows this transition making us realise how a need could turn into an ugly thirst for more.

As someone described it as "sinster version of The Lunchbox" - yeah.

P.S The lead actress is so beautiful. 😍