Lions in the Night (2011)

Lions in the Night An Obsessive Compulsive Love story This short film directed by Vaseem Ahmed Dehlvi stars Arjun Mathur, Geetika Tyagi, Dilip Shankar and Jyoti Sachdeva. Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi has photographed it and the Production Design is by Himani Mehta Dehlvi. 'Lions in the Night' portrays the story of an obsessive man who murders his wife because she is leaving him, and then struggles to keep this secret from his houseguest who is his former lover. The film's taut screenplay deftly maneuvers the audiences through half an hour of myriad basic emotions- love, obsession, murder, romance, sex, revenge and deceit. The story unfolds from the killers point of view and even though the murder takes place in the first few minutes, the audience slowly begins to empathize with the killer rather than his forced house guest -- his ex girlfriend. 'Lions in the Night' teases and tantalizes with its clever sleight of hand and its misdirection keeps the viewers engaged. There is a heightened sense of reality maintained throughout the film by interplays of silence and actual sounds. The deliberate absence of music enhances the tension and the suspense. The forced interaction of two characters in a confined space of two days keeps the drama pure and intense as the story moves towards an explosive and surprising climax. This stark noir piece unravels the dark layers of repressed primal emotions in society that burst forth in a violent fury and a brutal display of obsessive violence.