Madha, On Amazon Prime Video, The Last Film You Should Be Watching on Day #16 Of The Lockdown

Madha, directed by Srividya Basava, is no doubt an interesting film in an eerie sort of way. It's a psychological thriller that gets exceedingly creepy when the people around the very normal Nisha (Trishna Mukherjee) start plotting against her to prove that she's schizophrenic, just so they can push her into a mental asylum. The music, the cinematography and the performances aptly complement Nisha's (and the film's) gradual descent into madness. 

It's also a film that's the opposite of a comforting watch at this point in time. And this is not just because of the film's intended discomfort…you know the dark asylum, the dirty clothes, the monitor lizard on the walls (yup). But this feeling is amplified when we're all going through our own versions of questionable mental health. And to watch a film where you get locked up in a prison cell-like asylum room after being convinced that there's no one you can trust might not really be the film you're looking for right now. 

And what if the film goes ahead and convincingly puts forth an argument against certain vaccinations and one's immunity, that too at a time like this? If you were already stressed, watching Madha can make you paranoid. Of course, the film takes a long time to get you to this state of mind. The setup, with corny dialogues and an awful meet-cute, feels longer than the lockdown, but the film does manage to grip you as it gets into the second act. On another day, when one feels more secure and confident, it would, perhaps, be easier to watch Madha as just a film, appreciating its cinematic quality. Watching it now might be a disservice to a film that's better watched during sunnier days.

Also read: Lockdown Day #15: Watching, Or Imagining That I watched The Fascinatingly Disorienting Sleeplessly Yours