Lens - An extremely pertinent film

Bharath Vijayakumar

Lust is one of the most primal urges of humans. In this digital age the internet provides an easy access to vent out our sexual frustrations and acts as a medium that ensures that there is no limit to our sexual fantasies. The boon and bane of this is a different topic. Lens is not about porn. It explores the voyeuristic tendencies of humans and how technology has now got them unauthorised access into the most intimate moments of someone's life.

Plot:

A sex chat goes horribly wrong and as we start sympathising with the affected the film starts to unravel the motives of the hunter.


Lens is a hard hitting film but surprisingly it is hardly preachy. The message is quite literal but the tone ensures that it is not on your face. The slightly amiss lip sync and the laborious acting at the start ensures that it takes some time for us to get connected. But the film does take off very soon and the aforementioned hardly matter after a while.  In fact the lesser known actors looking like commoners actually sort of helps the film get its point well across the table. The point being this digital hazard does not merely affect celebrities but it is now well and truly into every section of the society.

The most refreshing aspect of lens is that it never for a second even inadvertently shames the victim in that crisply narrated flashback. She takes the extremely tragic decision not out of guilt but for a seemingly relatable fear that breaks her from the inside. The film should atleast hopefully prick the conscience  of a major section of the society that is possibly being involved in what could be defined as virtual rape. Just a few weeks ago we had few private photos/videos ( allegedly morphed) being leaked through a Twitter handle and you just had to go through the comments to understand how the psyche of a section of our society works. There was no hint of shame in violating someone's privacy and the wilfully participating audience even had the audacity to lecture on morality. The film by having the victim as someone unable to speak is possibly hinting at the situation of such victims in our society. Their voice is muted. But they have to bear the brunt of listening to all that is being said about them.

Bottomline:

The next time you are just a mouse-click away from invading someone's privacy LENS should come to your mind. That is the film's biggest takeaway.

Verdict: 3.5/5