Aparna Sen’s ‘The Rapist’ goes beyond the culprit-survivor binary

Premiered at the IFFK, the film explores how a rapist becomes one

As Kerala remains glued to court proceedings of a molestation case involving celebrities, a multi-layered film, The Rapist, directed by auteur Aparna Sen, goes beyond the culprit-survivor binary to explore why a person becomes a rapist.

The Rapist, which bagged the Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival in 2021, struck a chord with viewers of the 26th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala. Starring Aparna’s daughter Konkona Sen Sharma, Arjun Rampal and Tanmay Dhanania in the lead roles, the film explores how a heinous crime like rape impacts the people involved and society at large. Is it nature or nurture or a combination of both? What circumstances make one a rapist?

Speaking over phone from Kolkata, the 76-year-old renowned actor-director, winner of multiple national and state awards, explains why she made a film that tries to understand a society that creates rapists. She says: “A newborn does not become a rapist overnight. He becomes a toddler, a young boy, a youngster... What turns him into a rapist? Rape, say activists and academics, is all about power. I agree. But what makes a person use rape as a weapon, as a way of subjugating a woman?”

She says the theme had been on her mind since the Nirbhaya case and two years ago it crystallised into a story and a screenplay. When a Mumbai-based production house approached her and she narrated this story, they were enthusiastic about it.

But it took some time before the film got the green signal. “I went to Mumbai, met Sameer Nair (CEO of Applause Entertainment) and narrated the story. That was how the producers, Applause Entertainment, came on board,” she recalls.

Shot in Delhi over 27 days, the film was completed in 2021. Aparna says the film could have been set only in Delhi as she had conceptualised that as the location. Konkana plays Naina, a criminology professor married to Aftab Malik, essayed by Arjun.

Each character goes through a prism of change after the rape as they grapple with their own long-held convictions. “Aftab, for instance, is against capital punishment but when his wife is raped, he finds himself examining his stand against capital punishment. The lives of Naina, Aftab and Prasad (Tanmay) are changed overnight as a result of that one act of sexual violence.