2017 PS Film Festival
film synopsis
In this Kafkaesque crime thriller, four migrant Tamil laborers are detained in the neighboring state of Andra Pradesh. Beaten and brutally tortured in a police jail cell, they are forced to admit to a crime they have no knowledge of.
Unable to speak the local dialect and defend themselves, the men's prospects look dim. Unexpectedly, a policeman from their hometown decides to speak to the judge on their behalf, and manages to secure their release. In return, the policeman asks for a favor-to help kidnap a high profile auditor. The boys oblige, and find themselves trapped in a web of intrigue spun by corrupt politicians and police officials.
Based on the novel Lock Up by Chandra Kumar, himself a victim of police brutality, this visceral, chilling drama shows how the system can prey on the defenseless.
Winner: Audience Award, New York South Asian; Amnesty International Award, Venice