On the eve of Indian Independence Day, communal riots break out across the South Asian peninsula.
A stranger, drenched in equal parts rainwater and blood, wearily enters a house in the clearing of a misty forest. Dragging a limp leg, he searches the home’s every nook and cranny, resting against a wall when he realizes he must be alone. Just as he begins to doze off, another outsider breaks in, seeking refuge, blade drawn. The two men’s fear of each other, a microcosm of the region’s politics, turns a safe haven into a sudden hellscape.
Winner of the Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, Shujaat Saudagar’s The Underbug follows two unnamed men – Hussain Dalal (Call My Agent: Bollywood) and Ali Fazal (2022’s Death on the Nile) – as they descend into paranoia and violence. Neither trusts the other, not least because both refuse to acknowledge their religion. The initial asylee interrogates the latecomer, “Hindu or Muslim?” He dodges the question, but that unknown identifier looms at the center of the narrative.
When you don’t know if the person burrowing with you amid nationwide turmoil is a friend or a foe, suspicion and terror creep in. The stalking camera and harsh blue tint tip off viewers to the horror undertones, then rare jump scares and an eerie soundscape (hats off to composer Clinton Cerejo and sound designer Anirban Sengupta) leave the audience with no doubt of the film’s genre. The haunting scenario escalates when they hear rattling in the hallways. Could the homeowners still be there? Another refugee? Ghosts, even?
Sparse dialogue between the two leads, spliced with closeup shots of Mother Nature’s bug-eyed creatures outside the dwelling, keep the movie chugging for its 68-minute duration. At nightfall, they raid the family’s kitchen, feast on a platter of lamb, and cross-examine their counterpart on hot-button issues: arranged marriages, homosexuality, prostitution. In another story, the conversation would be shallow, but in the context of anonymity, saying too much in one direction could end in a bloodbath.
Unfortunately, with a dizzying and abrupt twist, the picture disintegrates at its climax. In a sidestep from the film’s serious themes of poverty and prejudice, the screenplay favors a bemusing departure over genuine social critique. The up-and-coming director certainly entices, but Saudagar’s breakout fails to stick the landing.
This article appears in February 3 • 2023.