I went to the NY Indian Film Festival to watch Manoj Bajpayee's Bandaa and decided to also watch Radhika Madan's Sanaa since it was screening in the same location right after Bandaa. I went in with the expectation to watch a good movie but never imagined that I would end up watching one of the most viscerally brilliant character studies and emotional journeys portrayed on screen by an Indian actress. I certainly didnt expect to watch a movie that I would rate higher than Bandaa and that made the movie even more special.

Sanaa (2022)
Directed by Sudhanshu Saria
Starring - Radhika Madan, Pooja Bhatt, Sohum Shah, Shikha Talsania and Nikhil Khurana
Written by Sudhanshu Saria
Music by Vishal Mehra
Release Date - TBD (Film Festivals only)
My Rating - 9/10

Sanaa portrays the emotional journey and transformation of its lead character over a period of 2 days in what is definitely Radhika Madan's career defining performance. Radhika assays the role like never done before in a Bollywood movie as she peels the various layers of toughness, confidence and happiness of a successful modern woman to reveal a girl who is sensitive, somewhat scared and frustrated with how society treats her in this "modern" world.

Sanaa is a confident, successful and hardworking executive in a firm on the verge of signing a big deal which is her key to getting out of a world she doesnt feel that she fits in very well. In the first scene of the movie Sanaa is seeing outperforming all the girls in a very stylish gym with a white trainer giving the illusion that the movie maybe set in a foreign location. It is quickly revealed that she is in fact in India living in a westernized bubble with designer clothes and rave parties that are completely out of sync with the world surrounding it.

The other girls at the Gym make fun of her stylish looks, attitude and confidence. Her apartment society wants to get rid of a single woman making it impossible for her to feel at home. Her male colleagues at work applaud her talent, hardwork and brilliance at work but still dont treat her as their equals. The movie is full of such subtle moments which very honestly portray a gently hinted battle between the modern and the traditional, sexes and many other things. In one scene at a very realistic portrayed Government Hospital, a confident, stylish and modern Sanaa stands in a corridor only to find her personal space getting casually invaded by a slipper of a young boy sitting in front of her. He confidently gestures her to kick it back to her. She hesitantly complies. He kicks it again at her. She frustratingly shoves the slipper to the side. In another scene a patient's husband storms into a female gynecologist's office screaming for urgent help for his wife and their unborn son with a comment "A daughter doesnt complete the family". None of these scenes are in your face but are key in painting the background of the movie.

The cinematography and direction is brilliant as the camera follows Sanaa in a very "Aronofskyesque" manner reminiscent of Mickey Rourke's panning scenes in the Wrestler. Every scene has purpose, every spoken word has meaning, every gesture reveals something new. Sanaa is a very carefully and sensitively written and directed movie. Radhika Madan revealed in her post screening Q&A that the movie's writer director Sudhanshu Saria wanted the movie to be directed by a woman but after failing to find anyone willing to sign up for the movie he decided to direct it himself. He surrounded himself with women in every department to ensure that any false move by him gets called out and corrected. The result is very evident....One of the most powerful modern feminist movies of all time.

The acting in the movie is way above par whether it is Pooja Bhatt as Sanaa's mother, Sohun Shah as Sanaa's boss/lover, Shikha Talsania as Sanaa's doctor and Nikhil Khurana as Sanaa's single neighbor who doesnt get the same slack from the society's watchdogs like Sanaa. Every character is real, relatable, likable and relevant to the movie. The movie has one actor who shines way brighter than anyone else and that is Radhika Madan as Sanaa. She is literally in every scene emoting with her words, expressions, gestures, movements and silences. Her performance gave me goosebumps and reminded me of some of the finest roles assayed by the legendary Smita Patil.

The movie is full of great scenes but the final 10 minute scene at the clinic is one of the best that I have ever seen. It is absolutely real, cold, sensitive, vulnerable and gut wrenching. Kudos to the first timer director for creating such an amazing character study and commentary on the modern day society. Radhika Madan spent a lot of time with the audience talking about the tools and techniques used to bring this story and character to life and the most eye opening was how the director prepped for that final scene for 3 hours with everyone except Radhika, who actually went through that scene feeling absolutely vulnerable, alienated and alone which comes across very strongly on the screen.

In summary Sanaa is a movie unlike any other Bollywood movie that I have ever seen. It feels like India's version of Jeanne Dielman which was recently crowned the greatest film of all time. It is a movie that every woman should watch and one that every man has to watch. Unfortunately it may never see the light of day in India because of its content and its realistic treatment and even if our censor grows up to allow it, not many people will queue up to watch such content. So if you get a chance to watch it at a Film Festival, I would strongly recommend experiencing it. Sanaa is art. Sanaa is a movie with meaning. Sanaa is cinematography at its finest, direction at its best and acting which is real.