A red frame with white text appears every 20 minutes during the film ASSI. It reminds viewers that in India, a rape is reported every 20 minutes, amounting to nearly 30,000 cases a year. This is underscored by the victim in the film, who points out that this number is large enough to fill an entire stadium. Spoken through the voice of the victim, this fact sets the tone for what follows.
ASSI is based on the lives of rape survivors and captures their trauma, their struggle to rebuild their lives, the stigma they face, the pain their families go through, and their fight for social acceptance. These harsh realities are brilliantly presented in a powerful and carefully crafted narrative.
The performances are intense, human, and deeply realistic. Taapsee Pannu, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Kani Kusruti, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, and Naseeruddin Shah deliver performances that stir you from within. Directed by Anubhav Sinha and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar, the film raises profound questions about the lives of survivors in a system that often protects powerful criminals while justice fails them.
Parima (Kani Kusruti) is a schoolteacher whose life changes forever when she is brutally gang-raped by a group of youths from powerful and influential families. One evening, as she steps out of the Metro and walks home alone, a group of five men in an SUV follows her. Four of them sexually assault her inside the moving vehicle. The humiliation is compounded by the fact that they even counted their thrusts — 124, 125, 126 — as if it were some kind of competitive sport. Set against a backdrop of institutional indifference and patriarchal power, the film focuses on what happens after the crime.
Anubhav Sinha tells the story in a slow-burning, detailed, and emotionally demanding manner, weaving parallel tracks that add layers to the main story. Some of the courtroom scenes are especially disturbing, as the harsh questioning makes the survivor relive her trauma. ASSI exposes bail hearings, frequent objections, long delays, the callous attitude of corrupt police officers, and defence lawyers’ attempts to attack the victim’s character.
Advocate Raavi (Taapsee Pannu) goes beyond legal arguments and speaks to the larger issue, and her monologue near the climax is mature, emotional, and delivered with great conviction. Her arguments in court, her independent investigation, and her conversations with a police officer, which help awaken his conscience, eventually turn the case in her favour. Although justice is delivered in the legal sense, the film also makes it clear that emotional wounds do not heal so easily.
Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub plays Parima’s husband, Vinay, while child actor Advik Jaiswal plays their son, Dhruv. Together, they show how deeply a family is affected by such violence. Advik’s performance stands out — his innocent yet thoughtful questions, his way of seeing the world, and his silent, intense expressions speak louder than words.
Kumud Mishra plays Kartik Da, a man linked to the secret service. While his performance feels natural, the subplot in which he appears as an “Umbrella Man”, killing two undertrial accused during the hearings, feels slightly out of place and somewhat undermines the otherwise strong courtroom drama.
ASSI is an engaging film well worth watching. It will also remind audiences of Taapsee Pannu’s earlier, equally impactful courtroom performances.
(Praveen Nagda, festival director, KidzCINEMA and Culture Cinema Film Festivals)
