Interrogation - Canon of the Canyon

 

 Interrogation

Hindi, 2025

Genre: Film Noir

 

Director: Ajoy Varma Raja

 

Stars: Manu Singh, Rajpal Yadav, Ritooja Shinde, Yashpal Sharma, Girish Kulkarni, Darshan Jariwala

 

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Interrogation marks the first time, after many decades, that the Rashomon Effect has been employed effectively in an Indian movie.  Seen for first time in the classic Andha Naal, this style of film-making involves different perspectives on the same event, as told by witnesses to the event.  

 

What makes Interrogation  all the more interesting is the cinematography.  Using the landscapes of Ladakh, we are taken from cobweb filled cabins to hidden coves to steep canyons and back, all to offer depth to the complexity of the four characters who serve as witnesses and suspects in the murder of an acclaimed Judge.

 

First-time actor Manu Singh gives a great performance as the investigator. He is at once hardhearted and concerned, his facial expressions at times weakening to the camera, at other times stoic and contemplative.  This is a man out for justice, and only four very complex and suspicious people stand as testament to that justice.

 

Each of the four actors, with the possible exception of Ms. Shinde, are seasoned enough for the roles. All offer both grieving and honor to a man they loved and loathed at the same time. The moral grayness, the confusion of emotions, all against the stark contrasts of the landscape of Ladakh, make both the director and this movie exceptional.  Through and through, Interrogation brings back the inimitable style of classic film noir.