Cine Talks by Riddhima Sen
NH10 (2015) is a thriller action film directed by Navdeep Singh. Besides being merely a survival thriller, it also focuses on existentialism and female rage. The film is rumored to have been inspired by real honor-killing incidents. The story unfolds as a couple, Meera and Arjun, go on a long drive to celebrate Meera’s birthday. As part of this endeavor, they come across Pinky, a young girl wo has eloped from home with her lover. He certainly would have belonged to a lower caste, which is why her family did not easily consent to their union.
However, Pinky soon gets poisoned to death by her brother, Satbir, and later on shot by her own brother too. Arjun’s interference angers Satbir, and he ends up stabbing Arjun and taking Meera to his village home as his hostage. What follows further is a roller coaster ride of emotions, violence and sheer gore. The brutal reality of honors killings in India is explored at depth, where the abstract notion of honor plays the central role. How Meera undergoes a transformation from a meek , timid woman to a woman who avenges her husband by embarking on the path of gore is quite remarkable .
