With love from a killer

The writer-director Ashwini Ranjan attempts to showcase how deeply rooted Patriarchy is in the Indian Culture. Ranjan also wants to depict its long-term effect on people and their loved ones through the central character Mayur (Nishant Kumar).

The storyline revolves around Mayur a small-town man who now has a white-collar job in the city. He is obsessed with the notion of Patriarchy and therefore can't take orders from females. This has already transformed him into a killer and as the story progresses psychoanalysis of a sick and dark mind is revealed.

The short film- With love from a killer opens with a long shot of the city in the evening while the voice-over plays in the background highlighting the typical mindset of a male- dominated society. The title of the cinematic piece appears to be etched on the wall and the searchlight hovers on it. This is done by the filmmaker along with the creative team to give a rough and brutal feel to the psychological thriller. The DOP Jayesh Prakash Sen pans the camera into the warehouse so that the audience feels involved and also gets a chance to explore the character of Mayur further. The messy set design, dim lighting, sound effects, and costume instill the sense of fear and gruesomeness to establish the subject matter of the film. The mid-close shot of the lighted-up brain twirling around used by Sen indicates the complexities of the mind. The makers of the cinematic piece want to keep the suspense intact for the viewers so that they are completely hooked to the content till the very end.

Nishant Kumar plays Mayur who believes in the idea of male dominance and so he is unable to accept working women in urban areas ready to take revenge from them. Kumar utilizes swear words, weird laughter, and anger to portray the nuances of the dark side of Mayur. He (Mayur) thinks he is a victim at hands of the financially independent ladies in the city and Kumar justifies the same with his acting skills.

Nitisha Mondal is in the role of Poonam/Bulbul who fights for the rights of women as the society is busy favouring the boys instead of protecting the girls. Mondal illustrates both the vulnerable as well as strong sides of Poonam's personality effortlessly.

The psychological thriller talks about the theory of every action having an equal and opposite reaction; therefore we need to be very careful regarding our karma in life. The movie teaches its audience that equal treatment of a man and a woman in the community will lead to the well-being of every member in the long run. With love from the killer also discusses the importance of a good upbringing for children to stop the emergence of criminals like Mayur.

Many flaws need to be addressed by the director Ashwini Ranjan. The concept of the film is very good but it loses its grip on the viewers at the time of the execution, especially the latter half. In the modern times the film portrays men supporting and glorifying Mayur's act openly is unacceptable to the viewers. The audience could not build an emotional connection to the cinematic piece as it leaves the back story of Mayur with a vague starting point at the beginning of the narrative. Another point is that the film tries to compare Mayur to a lion to justify his actions stating the rule of jungle is the wrong approach.

In my opinion, Ashwini Ranjan needed a strong base to make this thriller instantly appeal to the audience presently the viewers tend to become more confused rather than relating to the movie. Ashwini should be unbiased towards both the parties and let the audience decide what they want to conclude and learn from the film.