Aligarh
2016 · Directed by Hansal Mehta
Original language: Hindi
- drama
- history
The story
A sympathetic journalist covers the true story of Ramchandra Siras, an esteemed linguistic professor at Aligarh University who was suspended on charges of homosexuality.
What it’s like
Muted, rain-dimmed Indian interiors shot with quiet restraint: lamplit college rooms, book-lined studies, and cramped Aligarh lanes under grey winter skies, with the palette kept soft and desaturated so that warm yellow lamplight stands out as the only comfort. Long, still takes let faces and small gestures carry the weight, and the camera often lingers on a man alone in a room after the day has ended. The score is sparse and melancholy, with long stretches of ambient silence and the sound of traffic, rain, or a ticking clock doing much of the emotional work. The vibe is subdued, dignified sorrow with a slow-burning anger beneath it. Pacing is deliberate and unhurried, and the emotional register stays grave and intimate rather than sensational. The central arc follows an older, private man, cut off and humiliated, slowly finding a fragile human connection through an unlikely ally. Intensity is low: there is no on-screen violence or gore, and the cruelty is institutional and verbal, with some tense confrontations and distressing scenes of public shaming. Sexual content is implied rather than shown. Best for viewers who want a serious, quietly moving drama about dignity, loneliness, and injustice, watched on a slow evening.
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