In Delhi-set film ‘Khidki Gaav’, a window into a couple’s travails

Sanju Surendran’s Khidki Gaav refers both to the film’s setting – the neighbourhood of the same name in South Delhi – as well as the window that viewers get into a couple’s world. Surendran’s evocative and beautifully performed second feature, which is predominantly in Malayalam, looks at the seesawing relationship between live-in lovers Sarah and Abhi.

While Delhi is harsh and alienating for Sarah (Bhanu Priyamvada) and Abhi (Roshan Abdul Rahoof), their apartment is a refuge from the outside world. Sarah is far away from her conservative and controlling family; Abhi has the opportunity to pursue his career as an artist.

But their nest is violated ever so often. Their landlady is intrusive and suspicious without reason. Their friends Simon and Gopika are welcome until they appear to cross the limit. Sarah’s domestic woes catch up with her. The intimacy soon becomes stifling.

Khidki Gaav’s English title, If On A Winter’s Night, is taken from the Italo Calvino novel If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler. The winter season plays an important role in the movie, running parallel to the growing chilliness between the couple.

The film’s story was partly inspired by real-life incidents as well as Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s debut feature Musafir (1957), in which Mukherjee and co-writer Ritwik Ghatak follow three sets of tenants renting the same house,...

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