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Ayesha Dharker

When writing on a film from a country with a strong cinema culture, it is tempting to compare it with past masters or predict it will hearken a renaissance. However, The Terrorist is unique; respectfu...( read more  read more... )l of India's cinematic icons, it then breaks both from sensationalism and sentimentalism. With the poeticism that marks Indian cinema, symbols which define the protagonists emotions - the sound of water, a tear, a touch, a flowering tree - acquire remarkable resonance as our hero is identified as a suicide bomber marching toward the end of her young life. Director Samosh Sivan, deeply affected by the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, decided to focus on the formation of a suicide bomber. Portrayed by the astonishing young actress Ayesha Dharkar, Malli has spent much of her nineteen years in revolutionary training. A hardened killer, she interviews for (an amazing sequence) and wins the coveted bomber position. However, the path to the VIP's assassination allows her to contemplate her own emotions for the first time. Those she meets affect her in a new way; in meditation she reflects on a moment of true love; contemplating her future, she is caught within a psychological divide. The film is awash with sensuality. Sivan, also an award-winning cinematographer, mutes his color scheme to simulate a rich cyanotype. Often the only sound we hear is Malli's breath. And close-ups of her face, humid with the pain of emotional awakening, documented by the photographer capturing the look of modern martyrdom, remain with us long after the film's end.

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83% liked it

838 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Santosh Sivan

Release Date: December 31, 1999

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DVD Release Date: December 5, 2000

Stats: 64 reviews

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Ayesha Dharker in "The Terrorist"
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Flixster Reviews (64)

  • Dracula787
    May 16, 2009
    Dracula787
    This is a movie that famously took on a new relevance after the September 11th attacks. The film is about a woman who?s a member of a Siri Lankan terrorist group almost certainly based on the Tamil Tigers. Early on, the woman is assigned to assassinate someone by suicide bombin...( read more)g; the rest of the film follows her as she begins to have doubts about her task. The film was shot on a very small budget and this shows some times, there?s a scene where someone punches through a window but they don?t actually show it, presumably because they couldn?t afford break away glass. In spite of this, the film has beautiful cinematography (the director was originally a DP), and that goes a long way in making this very watchable on a shoe-string. A very interesting film on important subject matter.
  • ristrawn
    October 16, 2009
    ristrawn
    great & real about the affects of love on one's perspective of priorities in life... without love, one's life might seem all for naught but with love, one might do anything to live... very capitivating, intense & current... Ayesha Dharker was fantastic...
  • RThornhill
    October 16, 2009
    RThornhill
    this beautiful and suspenseful film will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to the end... highly recommended.
  • iamthethinman
    July 22, 2008
    iamthethinman
    This was a movie I waited a long time to see. I was excited about it when I heard about it and then forgot about it for a while. Added it when I first got netfilx then lost in in the 200+ queue. Finally, saw it and it took a bit to get into, but a great movie. A parallel, yet gre...( read more)at divergence to a movie like Paradise Now, but more so, beautifully filmed/photographed. Only problem I had was jump cut pacing and the need to fill the movie with random music/noises. That really bothers me.
  • BadBelly
    January 16, 2007
    BadBelly
    The life of a female Tamil Tiger.
  • maniaca
    January 11, 2007
    maniaca
    It great. The end is the best!
  • DemonicNightmare
    September 28, 2006
    DemonicNightmare
    This looks really crap.
  • ryanjantz
    August 26, 2006
    ryanjantz
    this film is honest and very intense.

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The Terrorist Trivia

  • V for Vendetta was set to be released in theatres the fifth of November, 2005 to match with the tagline, "Remember, Remember, the 5th of November." However, the release date was pushed back to March 2006. For what reason was it pushed back.  Answer »
  • In which movie would you find the terrorist named the 'Puppet Master'?  Answer »
  • What movie did the actor who played the terrorist in Die Dard go on to gain fame in?  Answer »
  • The original script of Ladder 49 written before the terrorist attack on the USA on 9-ii-01 set the events in New York ?  Answer »
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