Corrode (Kshay)

An Empatheia, Conjure Media and Arts production with 3rd Thought Entertainment. Created by Karan Gour, Shaan Vyas. Executive producers, Adityavikram Gupta, Devesh Gour, Siddharth Bhatia, Vinay Mohindar. Directed, written, edited by Karan Gour.With: Rasika Dugal, Alekh Sangal, Sudhir Pednekar, Adityavardhan Gupta, Nikita Anand, Asit Reij, Aswin Baluja, Siddharth Bhatia. (Hindi dialogue)A psychologically fragile lady becomes consumed by her desire to have a unique statue from the goddess Lakshmi in "Corrode," a aesthetically striking mental drama about obsession sometimes similar to Roman Polanksi's "Repulsion." Filming in black-and-whitened widescreen, Indian multihypenate Karan Gour imbues his debut feature with a sense of inexorable disaster through surreal dream sequences and unsettling seem design. 4 years within the making, this low-budget, non-commercial indie pic reps an excellent find for fests devoted to experimental work, and may lure developers of horror and fantasy. Petite, artistic Chhaya (Rasika Dugal, exceptional) and her construction-worker husband, Arvind (Alekh Sangal), are area of the cash-strapped lower-middle-class, residing in a cramped Bombay apartment. Occasions are difficult: Arvind's opportunistic boss pleads poor and will not pay wages due, and Chhaya continues to be melancholy on the recent miscarriage. Her attraction towards the near existence-size unpainted sculpture is related to some flying rock that pulls bloodstream from her oral cavity later, that small cut morphs into strange body-horror images. When Arvind leaves with an extended business travel, Chhaya's obsession spirals unmanageable. Evocative tech work and effects belie the pic's microbudget.Camera (B&W, widescreen, DV), Abhinay Khoparzi music, Gour, Siddharth Bhatia. Examined at Chicago Film Festival (New Company directors, competing), March. 11, 2001. Running time: 92 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com