B.A. Pass is a bleak, noir-ish and sexually charged parable of life in contemporary Delhi. Shadab Kamal plays Mukesh, a first year college student who, after the sudden death of his parents is sent to live under the reluctant care of his aunt and uncle. There he meets the wealthy and fashionable Sarika (Shilpa Shukla) who quickly seduces the young man then pimps him out as a rent boy, to her circle of wealthy, bored, Delhi housewives.
Sadly, B.A. Pass suffers from some implausible plot twists (the film was adapted from a short story The Railway Aunty by Mohan Sikka). And, the early “sex” scenes, especially in the opening act, will feel clumsy to a Western audiences.
But, there is genuine substance in the acting from Shukla & Kamal, along with the solid supporting performances, including Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Kamal’s friend Johnny. And, the steady, visually engaging depiction of Delhi under Ajay Bahl’s direction keeps drawing the viewer in again and again, especially in the final act of the film.
While there has been a spate of recent Indian films that seek to exploit a more liberal attitude to onscreen sexuality, few have been willing to explore the darker side of sexual exploitation in as frank and confronting a way as B.A. Pass.
