Masaan

Masaan (Crematorium) is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. The directorial debut film is an Indo-French co-production produced by Drishyam Films, Macassar Productions, Phantom Films, Sikhya Entertainment, Arte France Cinema and Pathé Productions. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival winning two awards. Ghaywan previously assisted Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur.

Plot

Set in present day Banaras, the plot of Masaan follows two seemingly separate story arcs that eventually converge.

The first of these tells the story of Devi. The film opens with her and her fellow student, Piyush, checking into a hotel room. They are interrupted during sex when the police bursts in, accusing them of indulging in “indecent behaviour”. As the inspector records the barely clad Devi on his mobile phone, the boy locks himself in bathroom and commits suicide. Devi and her family are subjected to blackmail by the police, particularly one Inspector Mishra, who demands a hefty bribe from Vidyadhar Pathak, Devi’s father. While he struggles to fulfill his demand, she responds in a dignified manner to the 'stigma' forced on her switching jobs. She eventually gets a government job in railways in Banaras. Marred by the parochial mindset of people she leaves Banaras and joins a course in Allahabad..