Lens (film)


Lens is a bilingual hostage drama written and directed by Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan made simultaneously in Malayalam and Tamil. Dealing with the subject of voyeurism, it features Anandsami and Jayaprakash in the lead roles.
Lens has been screened in several film festivals including Clam - Festival Internacional de Cinema Solidari South Asian International film festival Jagran film festival Chennai International Film Festival, Pune International Film Festival, Bengaluru International Film Festival, Lonavala International Film Festival, and Bioscope International Film Festival in Delhi. The Malayalam version was distributed by LJ Films and the Tamil version is distributed by director Vetrimaaran under his company Grassroot Film Company.
The film was later released on Netflix

Plot

Aravind's growing estrangement with his wife, owing to his indulgence in virtual sexual relationships, paves way for his encounter with a stranger. This random experience takes a turn for the worst when the stranger requests Aravind to witness his suicide on a Skype call.

Cast

Critical reception

Malayalam director Vineeth Sreenivasan said "There are so many things I wanted to say about this film. In fact, if the movie was released already, I would have written in detail. For now, I' ll just say this... this film needs to be seen by today's internet-savvy generation. It is relevant, gritty, honest, and it haunts." Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote "Lens is a refreshingly grown-up film...not only does it deal with a grown-up subject, it also refuses to infantilise the audience by treating its points as messages. Lens understands that a movie isn’t a pharmacological product: pop one and cure a social ill. It lays out problems without the comfort of easy solutions."

Awards