Over the past couple of years, the issue of female desire has quietly entered the cinematic conversation, thanks to strong, new voices. After Payal Kapadia’s Everything We Imagine as Light and Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls this festival season, Nidhi Saxena’s The Secret of the Mountain Snake takes the longing for the companionship of ordinary women to new heights.
Set in the hills of Uttarakhand during the Kargil War, the film follows the lives of a section of isolated women from Almora, whose husbands miss them when they go to serve the nation on the borders. Barkha (Trimala Adhikari) is one such school teacher, whose husband is a soldier. During his absence, she falls in love with a writer named Mihir Guho (Adil Hussain). Using myth and magical realism, Nidhi transforms this one-liner into a lyrical exploration of female desire. “When it comes to the chain of sacrifice in society, female desire is at the top,” says Nidhi over the phone. “And Victorian morality has the biggest impact on the middle class,” she adds.
A fine arts graduate from the Government College in Jaipur, Nidhi grew up in the profession, making documentaries for Doordarshan and well-known NGOs, which took her to the hills of Uttarakhand. “I found that many young men in the region were going to join the army, leaving behind single wives and widows. I felt a little sympathy for them, but when I discovered that women in the villages had other partners and love interests, it made me question my morality. Is it possible? Is it right? With time and age, I understood why I should stop my desire, which is not true.
Still from “The Mountain Snake Mystery.” | Photo credit: Special Arrangement
Nidhi decided to explore how the narrative of an army man being important to the nation could be a piece of fiction, and his wife’s desire could be reality. “I found that when he comes back after a year and becomes the center of the universe, the woman is not very comfortable because she is not used to his touch. It took me years to understand the dynamics of the relationship.”
Nidhi uses the talking shoes as a metaphor for the moral surveillance that society places on its women. “I wanted to show that when they go out for work, society creates a moral surveillance on something that makes her cross the boundary of the home. Physically, Barkha has come out, but inside, something is still stirring, creating a feeling that she has done something wrong.”
Outside, Nidhi creates a folklore where Barkha finds herself in a kind of Garden of Eden filled with forbidden apples, birds, kursengers, and a shape-shifting snake. Fruit is traditionally a powerful symbol of desire. Nidhi tells us that when she was filming a film for the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera, she carried an apple in her hand and walked to the rhythm of “go home,” words that Barkha’s shoes mutter as she walks on the wild side with Manik, a sweet talker who carries the spirit of Sveela.
Magical realism is an integral part of Nidhi’s storytelling. Having grown up reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gabriel García Márquez, and Vinod Kumar Shukla, she refers to Remedios the Beauty ascending to heaven while folding laundry, carrying white sheets with her, in 100 Years of Solitude as an inspiration. “In the closed societies we grow up in, magical realism gives us relief.”
Attiecībā uz apslāpēto vīriešu balsi filmā Nidhi apgalvo, ka gadsimtiem ilgi vīriešu grupa bija noteikusi sociālo morāli un tradīcijas. “Ir pienācis laiks izdomāt lietas sev. Man jautā, kāpēc Sudhirs necīnās ar Barkha, kad viņš atklāj viņas pārkāpumus. Ja viņš būtu bijis vardarbīgs, skatītājiem būtu bijis viegli izvēlēties Mani Barkha. Šeit Sudhir raud, kad viņš nevarētu apmierināt Barkha,” viņa skaidro.
Maniks piepilda emocionālo tukšumu Barkha dzīvē, bet delikātā saruna varētu būt fasāde, āda, kuru viņš izlaidīs. “Ja jūs kaut ko izlemjat sev, jūs varat kļūdīties. Čūskas ir gludas un spīdīgas, taču tās ir arī bīstamas. Es uzskatu, ka sievietēm vajadzētu būt brīvībai (izteikt) vēlmei un vēlmei pēc brīvības. Beigu beigās viņi neiet uz čūsku, viņi dodas uz upi!”
Ieliekot Adila slāņaino sniegumu, Nidhi saka, ka pieredzējušais aktieris bija gatavs spēlēt čūsku bez balsta. “Bija 14 minūšu secība, kurā viņš lika mums aizmirst atšķirību starp Maniku un mītisko figūru. Mēs varētu saglabāt tikai 5-6 minūtes, bet tā bija pieredze. Viņš lasīja visu par čūsku, ieskaitot tās atmiņu.”
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Runājot par gleznaino kinematogrāfiju, viņa saka, ka viņas DOP Vikas Urs bija tikko pabeigusi Sabars Bonda (Šī gada Sundance uzvarētājs), kad viņš viņai pievienojās. “Viņa stils bija novērojums. Viņam patīk paskatīties uz lietām no attāluma. Tas, iespējams, darbojās zēnu filmā. Es viņam teicu Galvenais dil ke andar utarna chahti hoon (Es gribu iekļūt sirdī)VerdzībaIesmēdzas Nidhi un turpina izskaidrot, kā viņi izmantoja uguni, lai radītu maģiskos gaismas efektus filmā, kas veidota par ierobežotu budžetu, kas nāca caur prestižo Biennale koledžas dotāciju.
Nidhi ir otrais Indijas filmas veidotājs pēc Shubhashish Bhutiani, kurš to nodrošināja Mukti Bhawan Gandrīz pirms desmit gadiem. Viņas pirmā filma, Skumjas iedomātas sievietes vēstules, uzvarēja Āzijas kino fondā. Nidhi sūdzas, ka lielie Bolivudas producenti tagad meklē šos līdzekļus, kas būtībā ir domāti neatkarīgiem filmu veidotājiem. “Es domāju, ka labākie festivāli arī meklē populāru vārdu klātbūtni.”
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Augot vidusšķiras mājsaimniecībā Jaipurā, kopā ar vecākiem, kuri viņā ieaudzināja mīlestību pret literatūru un mudināja viņu turpināt savu aizraušanos, Nidhi bija liecinieks viņas brālēniem, kuri cīnās laulībā. Viņa domā, kā sabiedrība normalizē meitenes migrāciju no vienas mājas uz otru. “Kad man pietrūka naudas, es palūdzu savai strādājošajai mātei dot man summu, ko viņa bija ietaupījusi manām kāzām. Viņa mani saprata.”
The Jaipur girl says she learnt to count from “Ek Do Teenager” ( Tezaab ) and is open to directing a Bollywood film. “I didn’t grow up watching Satyajit Ray, but I feel that the generation of filmmakers led by Shoojit Sircar and Pradeep Sarkar have been able to break the formula and do their thing in the mainstream. I have the scripts ready!”
Published – September 2, 2025 05:46 PM IST
