Movie review: B.A. Pass, a brilliant portrayal of lustful saga

Cast: Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal, Rajesh Sharma, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya;Director: Ajay BahlWriter: Ritesh ShahRating: ***She runs a working women's committee, but it's a cover for sex trade. A sex guru with a fantastic mind, she teaches her students the art of lovemaking. She employs them in her escort business and takes her cut out of their earnings. But it's not a lady escort service, a male escort one. It isn't surprising if we delve deeper and find the murky world of gigolos. But how do they get entrapped into this dark world needs to be pondered over. BA Pass takes you to the thinnest layer of the sex trap which will surpass you imagination.Mukesh (Shadab Kamal) has lost his parents and has two younger sisters to look after. He is looked after by his aunt who treats him like a servant. A working women's committee which is led by Sarika (Divya Shukla) calls him up to her house. The innocent Mukesh, unaware of the oncoming deed, enjoys the seduction class and learns the art of intimacy. But before he understands everything, the floor beneath his feet, gives away and he found himself in the male prostitution galaxy. The more he tries to come out of it, the deeper he sinks into the quicksand. Will he be able to survive this quicksand of fate? Ajay Bahl's hardcore seductive saga narrates the tale.Bahl wastes no moment whatsoever to take us to the underbelly of the seduction in metros, where the wool is taken off from our eyes to face the blinding truth. The victim here isn't a female but a college going guy who is targeted by misfortune. The seedy lanes of Delhi's Paharganj are Bahl's targets. He peeks beyond the red light area and discovers the dirty gamble of sex where males are cuisines for both genders.He captures life in the lanes of Paharganj with perfection and presents its silent beauty. Spreading his plot that revolves round this mundane guy, Bahl gives us a deeper study of his frustration, anxiety, responsibility and, at last, his patience which leads to his end.We are led to believe our eyes which don't gape at the intimate moments shown in the flick but at Mukesh who goes through the entire trauma and gets sexually harassed by the drunken trio who are annoyed over his deal of Rs. 2000 per head.There are hardly any frames which are hindered by melodrama, nor are there any any chunks which make you condole for any person. There is the scene portraying the business which is ubiquitous in metropolitan cities and which unknowingly swallows the bright careers of many. Bahl brings the bitter truth to surface through his exceptionally courageous one hour forty minute drama which never misses any essential feature that requires an extra duration to it.There are plenty of intimate moments but, mind you, its not a purely skin show which is being focussed on but its a painful journey of a protagonist which blows your mind and at the end gives you a lump in your throat.This couldn't have been so authentic without the lead couple of Shilpa Shukla and Shadab Kamal who play their part so well that you are compelled to admire them.Shilpa Shukla, who was last witnessed in ‘Chak De India' brings her hard hitting act forward in BA Pass. She proves that she is a hard nut to crack. With her confidence, Shilpa brings the shameless and bold act perfectly.Shadad Kamal is the surprise package. He skins into the innocent and frustrating character so well, that you could easily feel the pain that he is going through. A scene where he is on a roadside looking for one night stand customer is brilliant. Dibyendu Bhattacharya is good.Music by Alokananda Dasgupta is apt. She doesn't press much for the background score and keeps it least to bring solemnity to the scenes. I'll go with three stars for BA Pass. It's a brilliant portrayal of lustful saga which unfolds the hidden truth behind the intimacy business set on the themes of envy, undue advantage and betrayal.