Accused, the new psychological thriller on Netflix, which follows a gay Indian couple in the UK as they navigate a turbulent period in their lives, clearly dives into the damaging consequences of sexual harassment charges at workplaces. It taps into the havoc and angst that unproven allegations can unleash with social media slurs and public shaming. This film, directed by Anubhuti Kashyap (Ayushman Khurrana’s Doctor G and web series regrets), however, also tries to explore what lurks beneath the surface in human relationships and the perils of hubris.
Hence, there’s much to unpack in this stylish film, which also boasts of some sharp casting, with Konkona Sen Sharma alongside Pratibha Ranta (of Laapataaa Ladies fame). This lead pair itself fires up anticipation, besides the fact that they play a queer married couple, whose relationship comes under deep strain, when Konkona’s character, Dr Geetika Sen, faces charges of sexual harassment at her workplace.
Dr Sen is a reputed and valued doctor at the Chappelstone General Hospital located on the fringes of London. Having tirelessly built up a formidable medical career over 14 years, the power she commands to summarily sack or humiliate erring doctors, crumbles around her. She is losing her iron-clad grip over her job, her personal life and her emotions. She feels cornered, and Konkona Sen effectively portrays the frustration and anger at being hunted. For the first time, it is a woman who is in the dock as a predator, and not the victim, points out the male hospital investigator in a mocking, smug tone. To which, Sen angrily snaps back, “This time too it is the woman who is the victim.”
Power dynamics in relationships
Is she being framed? Or, what about her liaisons with younger doctors in her team? No clear-cut, satisfactory answers crop up at first because Dr Geetika Sen is a complex, ambitious woman. She holds high standards at work and cuts no slack for her tardy colleagues. At the same time, she displays Gone Girl-esque behaviour, sneakily trying to convince an ex-lover — a young former doctor — not to testify against her.
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What’s more, after the allegations surface, she has to deal with the growing suspicions and misgivings of her married partner Meera (Pratibha Ranta), a pediatrician. The nurturer in their relationship, Meera, is understandably upset that their dream to adopt a baby is scuttled as well. Sen was also poised to take over as hospital dean, but even the best-laid plans can come crashing down in the face of a murky storm called ‘MeToo’. Trollers have a field day lashing out calling the doctor a “weirdo lesbo,” “keep your curry eating hands to yourself” and “closets are safer Dr Sen”.
Accused of violating the most sacred doctor-patient bond, Sen is soon branded a “predator.” The plot is thick with potential suspects, who may well be orchestrating Sen’s nightmare. There is Sophie, a restaurateur and ex-lover hovering in the background (making Meera and viewers wary), still carrying a torch for Sen. Meanwhile, Meera’s male friend seems to care more than friendship requires. A nosy official investigator hired by the hospital too makes Sen edgy, as he begins to probe and uncover uncomfortable truths from her past at the hospital. Are there skeletons rattling in Sen’s closet?
As Sen starts to unravel under all the pressure, her pride in tatters, Meera also struggles to cope with her partner’s seemingly erratic behaviour. Can she continue to stand by her partner even after she discovers Sen is lying to her? After a relentless buildup that ratchets up expectations of some truly twisted human behaviour, the climax falls flat, leaving the viewer wondering if that was all there was to it.
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Yet, Accused, a fast-paced and tightly edited film, has you hooked. The writers Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani effectively put the spotlight on the palpable power dynamics in relationships, on what is often left unsaid.
A mirror to unpalatable truths
It’s not just the actors — Konkona, and the new talent on the block, Ranta — who keep the film on its toes. Undeniably, Konkona is so adept as an actor, she slips into her role as the hardnosed doctor who revels in wielding her power, with ease. She hates it when she is stripped of her ‘control’ and exposed for her naked ambition. In these scenes, the ugliness, the pomposity and the vulnerability flit through Konkona’s face, mirroring her guilt. Accused producer Karan Johar has always turned to her, whenever he needed a powerhouse performer in his commercial films, a partnership dating back to the days of Wake Up Sid. And she delivers.
Ranta, as the gentler spouse, who has to balance the rough edges in Konkona’s dominating character, manages to hold her ground. It must not be easy for her to match Konkona’s skills but she does not falter, and holds on to her role with a quiet strength. Clearly, Ranta is set to go places.
Besides the actors, the film keeps you invested in the characters from the beginning. Anubhuti Kashyap (who has assisted her brother, Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur) wastes no time in getting down to the brass tacks and hauling Konkona’s character over hot coals. Thankfully, the queer relationship between Sen and Meera is normalised to the point that an ‘aunty-ji’ in the family even heartily cheers on the couple’s adoption plans.
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There are no overt physical scenes between the two (except for a sexless kiss on the mouth). One can quibble that there is no sexual tension between the two and the film does raise a point that Sen’s relationships can be exploitative, as Meera is much younger than her. However, the makers do not dwell on their queer relationship and to overexplain it, and have admitted in interviews that they decided to set the film in London to make it more natural.
Once in a while, when we are forced to undergo a trial by fire, the bitter experience holds up a mirror to reveal unpalatable truths about yourself. You cannot look away; it’s unvarnished, unpalatable shorn of any posturing. That’s what this film is really about.
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